The Kerala High Court on Monday rejected the bail plea of Malayalam superstar Dileep, arrested on July 10 for the alleged conspiracy behind the abduction and assault of a leading actress in February, by observing that prima facie there was material to suspect his involvement in the crime. Dileep is currently detained under judicial custody in the Sub-Jail in Aluva, his hometown near Kochi.
The court dismissed the bail application of the superstar, 11th accused in the case, with some serious observations which, according to legal experts, may affect him adversely when the case reaches the trial stage and in his further efforts to get bail. With the dismissal of the plea, the 48-year-old superstar will remain in the Aluva jail for the time being.
Agreeing with the Prosecution’s argument that there were circumstantial and scientific evidences prima facie for the actor’s role in the plot for abducting and assaulting the actress, the court said bail could not be granted at this stage as the investigation was progressing. It was not immediately clear whether Dileep would approach the Supreme Court for bail.
Pointing out that the police were yet to recover a piece of vital evidence, the mobile phone used for recording the visuals of the assault on the actress inside a car, the court said the accused, an influential movie superstar, could tamper with the evidences and influence witnesses, especially those belonging to the film industry if released on bail.
Dileep had moved the HC for bail on July 17 after the Judicial Magistrate Court in Angamaly near Kochi turned down his application two days before that.
According to the police, the conspiracy to abduct and assault the actress was hatched by Dileep and Sunil Kumar, alias Pulsar Suni, the first accused who had executed the plot.
The High Court rejected almost all the arguments put forward by the counsels of the superstar. The police had slapped on the actor, described by the Prosecution as the ‘kingpin’ of the crime, several serious charges including criminal conspiracy, gang-rape, kidnapping and wrongful confinement.
In response to the argument by Dileep’s counsels that there were no evidences to establish conspiracy by him, the court suggested that conspiracies took place in secret and direct evidences were unlikely in such cases. However, there were sufficient circumstantial evidences prima facie to link Dileep to the conspiracy.
“The case is unique considering its seriousness, the 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 said in the 11-page order refusing bail to Dileep.
The High Court said that an attack of such nature against a woman for the sake of revenge was unheard of. Dileep’s remand period will end on Tuesday but the police have said that he could not be produced in the court due to security reasons. The legal process will now be carried out through video-conferencing.
The actress was abducted and assaulted by a gang headed by Suni on the night of February 17 inside a car in which she was travelling to Kochi from Thrissur in connection with the work on a film. Suni had allegedly attacked and abused the actress inside the car and recorded her visuals in the awkward situation.
According to the police, Suni and his gang had abducted and assaulted the actress as per Rs 1.5-crore ‘quotation’ - mafia term in Kerala for contract - given by Dileep who allegedly had some personal score to settle with her. The police’s allegation is that Dileep had conspired to attack her as an act of revenge for allegedly causing problems in his first marriage.