The Kerala High Court today rejected the bail application of popular Malayalam actor Dileep in the abduction and molestation case he has been implicated in..Justice Sunil Thomas opined that it was too early in the investigation to grant the actor bail..Dileep was charged under Sections 120(B), 342, 366 ,376(D), 411, 506(1), 201, 212 & 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66 (E) & 67(A) of the Information Technology Act..As the investigation unfolds, it has come to light that Dileep had set the wheels of a revenge crime in motion against the victim, also a noted actor in the Kerala film industry. It was alleged that the victim had a role to play in Dileep’s separation from his wife. It was also alleged that Dileep had hatched a conspiracy to take revenge on the victim by abducting her and taking nude photographs of her..The victim was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi to work on a film. It is alleged that the first accused and his co-accused waited in a van near the airport and when the vehicle of the victim reached the spot, the first accused staged a fake accident. At this point, three more men forcefully entered and confined the victim to the rear seat. They drove the vehicle towards the Kochi city, followed by a van driven by the first accused. Thereafter, the first accused entered the vehicle and sexually molested her in the moving vehicle. While she was being sexually abused, the first accused took a video of the entire incident..After the FIR was filed, the six persons were ultimately nabbed and arrayed as accused. The initial police report also suggests that an advocate was involved in the crime, although a separate charge sheet has been filed against him..Meanwhile, Dileep filed a complaint with the Director General of Police claiming that his reputation was being tarnished by attempts at connecting him with the incident. He stated that persons close to the first accused were demanding a sum of Rs. 2 crore from him, failing which they would spoil his career..Dileep was then arrested on July 10, charged with engaging the first accused to take nude photos of the victim, in exchange for Rs. 1.5 crore..Appearing for the actor, Senior Advocate K Ramakumar contended that there was not even an iota of evidence to connect his client with the incident or the conspiracy. He argued that his client had been questioned for a total of 23 hours by the police, and that he was not required any more for the purpose of the investigation..However, the Court noted that Dileep and the first accused were shown to have met on several occasions prior to the incident with a view to hatching the conspiracy..Stating that there was enough material on record to prima facie suspect that Dileep was involved in the crime, Justice Thomas refused to grant him bail..“The case is unique, considering its seriousness, meticulous planning, cruel nature of execution and being a crime executed to wreak vengeance on a woman by engaging criminals, to sexually abuse her. Courts have to be circumspect in granting bail in such cases.”.The Court also had another reason to refuse bail..“The crucial material object which is the mobile phone used for recording the sexual assault and the memory card in which the video graphed materials are stored have not been recovered. The memory card is a potential threat to the life of the victim and there is every possibility of any of the accused attempting to interfere in the investigation and the prosecution with the memory card.”.Justice Thomas concluded that Dileep, being an influential person in the industry, could potentially influence or threaten the witnesses, who belong to the same industry..Read the order:.Image taken from here.
The Kerala High Court today rejected the bail application of popular Malayalam actor Dileep in the abduction and molestation case he has been implicated in..Justice Sunil Thomas opined that it was too early in the investigation to grant the actor bail..Dileep was charged under Sections 120(B), 342, 366 ,376(D), 411, 506(1), 201, 212 & 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66 (E) & 67(A) of the Information Technology Act..As the investigation unfolds, it has come to light that Dileep had set the wheels of a revenge crime in motion against the victim, also a noted actor in the Kerala film industry. It was alleged that the victim had a role to play in Dileep’s separation from his wife. It was also alleged that Dileep had hatched a conspiracy to take revenge on the victim by abducting her and taking nude photographs of her..The victim was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi to work on a film. It is alleged that the first accused and his co-accused waited in a van near the airport and when the vehicle of the victim reached the spot, the first accused staged a fake accident. At this point, three more men forcefully entered and confined the victim to the rear seat. They drove the vehicle towards the Kochi city, followed by a van driven by the first accused. Thereafter, the first accused entered the vehicle and sexually molested her in the moving vehicle. While she was being sexually abused, the first accused took a video of the entire incident..After the FIR was filed, the six persons were ultimately nabbed and arrayed as accused. The initial police report also suggests that an advocate was involved in the crime, although a separate charge sheet has been filed against him..Meanwhile, Dileep filed a complaint with the Director General of Police claiming that his reputation was being tarnished by attempts at connecting him with the incident. He stated that persons close to the first accused were demanding a sum of Rs. 2 crore from him, failing which they would spoil his career..Dileep was then arrested on July 10, charged with engaging the first accused to take nude photos of the victim, in exchange for Rs. 1.5 crore..Appearing for the actor, Senior Advocate K Ramakumar contended that there was not even an iota of evidence to connect his client with the incident or the conspiracy. He argued that his client had been questioned for a total of 23 hours by the police, and that he was not required any more for the purpose of the investigation..However, the Court noted that Dileep and the first accused were shown to have met on several occasions prior to the incident with a view to hatching the conspiracy..Stating that there was enough material on record to prima facie suspect that Dileep was involved in the crime, Justice Thomas refused to grant him bail..“The case is unique, considering its seriousness, meticulous planning, cruel nature of execution and being a crime executed to wreak vengeance on a woman by engaging criminals, to sexually abuse her. Courts have to be circumspect in granting bail in such cases.”.The Court also had another reason to refuse bail..“The crucial material object which is the mobile phone used for recording the sexual assault and the memory card in which the video graphed materials are stored have not been recovered. The memory card is a potential threat to the life of the victim and there is every possibility of any of the accused attempting to interfere in the investigation and the prosecution with the memory card.”.Justice Thomas concluded that Dileep, being an influential person in the industry, could potentially influence or threaten the witnesses, who belong to the same industry..Read the order:.Image taken from here.