Actor Dileep being taken to be produced before Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Angamaly. File photoKochi: In the fresh bail application submitted by actor Dileep before the High Court of Kerala, he came down heavily on the police. The actor refuted the police stand that he took rather a long time to lodge the complaint against Pulsar Suni, the prime accused in the case, who tried to blackmail him.
Dileep also claimed that he had forwarded to DGP Loknath Behera via Whatsapp, a copy of the letter Suni had sent to him from the jail, the very same day he received it. But the prosecution argument is that Dileep took 20 days to file his complaint even after getting Suni's letter demanding money from the actor.
Earlier, while objecting the bail pleas of Dileep, the prosecution had cited some serious misgivings in the complaint that had been lodged by Dileep against Pulsar Suni. In the complaint, the actor had said that Suni demanded Rs 2 crore from him for not dragging his name into the case. But the police later found that Suni's letter had no mention of any particular amount, and hence the police argued that the mention of the amount in Dileep's complaint raised serious doubts. The prosecution had cited this as an evidence of the actor's complicity in the crime.
In his fresh bail petition, Dileep chose to clarify that Suni mentioned about the money in a phone call after the letter. So, when he prepared the complaint later, the amount also had been included, the actor said.
Dileep also challenges the police version that he and Suni conspired to attack the actress in a hotel in Kochi during the rehearsal of a star night organized by the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) in 2013. Suni might have been around there in the hotel. But Dileep reiterated that Suni was a total stranger to him. During the star night rehearsal, Dileep had stayed in Hotel Abad Plaza in Kochi. Earlier, after his arrest, the police had taken him to the hotel to collect evidence.
The bail petition also alleged that some powerful persons from the film industry conspired against him. They managed to influence the media, a section of police officials and political leaders, it is alleged. The actor also said in the petition that he had fully cooperated with the investigators. The shooting of his films were stopped midway and the release of even the completed films got affected because of his imprisonment. More than Rs 50 crore had been invested in these films, the petition said. Dileep submitted his bail plea through his new counsel B Raman Pillai.
There were attempts from some quarters to paint him as a land grabber too. But the revenue officials found that the allegations were totally unfounded, the petition pointed out.
Meanwhile, the actor completed a month in jail on Thursday. In a surprise move on the night of July 10, the special investigation team probing the attack on the actress arrested Dileep from his house in Aluva after summoning him for questioning. The arrest and the reports that Dileep masterminded the attack left the film fraternity in shock and disbelief. Dileep, who is touted as the popular hero of Mollywood, fell from glory and faced public resentment. There were not many supporters left for Dileep, not only among his fans but also from the film fraternity. He was expelled from AMMA and all other film organizations after his arrest. Though he approached the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Angamali, and then the high court seeking bail, his pleas were rejected both the times. Allegations of suspicious land deals and land grabbing complaints also haunted the actor one after another. His close relatives, including his wife actress Kavya Madhavan, were quizzed by the investigators several times.
Now, even after a month in jail, in a serious criminal case, Dileep and his family are a worried lot. They don't know when he would be able to come out of the jail. At the same time, the investigation team is trying its level best to ensure that Dileep stays in the jail till the trial is over in the sensational case. There were reports that Dileep would be listed as the second accused in the case.
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