Malayalam actress assault case: Dileep to move High Court for bail, says counsel

Kochi: Malayalam actor Dileep, arrested for allegedly plotting the abduction and assault of a popular South Indian actress will move the Kerala High Court tomorrow for bail, said his counsel on 19 July. The actor decided to seek bail from the high court a day after an Angamaly magisterial court refused to grant bail to him and sent him to judicial custody till 25 July. [caption id=“attachment_3833619” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Malayalam actor Dileep. Image from Facebook[/caption] “We will move the High Court for his bail tomorrow,” Dileep’s counsel K Ramkumar told PTI. He asserted that the actor has been framed in the case. The prosecution has said they will oppose the bail plea. Opposing Dileep’s bail plea yesterday, the prosecution had told the magisterial court that there was strong evidence against Dileep. The prosecution counsel had also expressed fears that on his release on bail, the accused might hamper the investigation and tamper with evidence, besides trying to influence witnesses. It would also adversely affect the ongoing probe into the conspiracy behind the sensational case, the prosecution had said. The police, meanwhile, have been looking for the actor’s manager Appunni and a lawyer allegedly associated with Dileep and the prime accused in the case ‘Pulsar’ Suni. The police have claimed that the phone used by the prime accused to take a video of assault of the actress reached Dileep through the lawyer. In another development, Kerala Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar said a probe has been ordered into the incident of the alleged land grab by Dileep for building a multiplex at Chalakkudy in Thrissur district. Dileep, lodged in Aluva sub jail, has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including the one for hatching the criminal conspiracy for the abduction and assault of the actress in a moving car on 17 February. The police have claimed that the conspiracy to abduct and assault the actress and film the dastardly act was hatched by Dileep and ‘Pulsar’ Suni, the prime accused in the case. The police, in its remand application, had claimed that Dileep had developed a grudge against the actress for letting his former wife know about his alleged affairs and had hatched a conspiracy to take revenge way back in 2013. The popular actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and allegedly molested inside her car for two hours by the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on 17 February, and later escaped in a busy area in Kochi. Six persons, including ‘Pulsar’ Suni, have been arrested in connection with the incident.