In what is being viewed as an indication of the fear that might have gripped the camp of Malayalam superstar Dileep, arrested in July for the alleged conspiracy behind the brutal assault on a frontline actress in February, as the police investigation has entered its final stage, one of his close friends, actor-director Nadir Shah, has approached the High Court for anticipatory bail saying that the police are threatening to arrest and implicate him in the case .
Nadir Shah moved the court after the Kerala Police’s special team probing the conspiracy behind the attack on the actress asked him to appear before it for questioning once again. The probe team had issued the instruction to him reportedly after the officials found that many of the things he had told them during questioning earlier were either lies or self-contradictory.
In his bail application, the actor-director accused the police of putting pressure on him for making false statements against Dileep. He complained that he was under a lot of psychological stress because the police were threatening to arrest him if he refused to obey their instructions. He had got admitted to a hospital in Kochi on Wednesday complaining about chest problems.
Nadir Shah said he was innocent, had nothing to do with the case and had cooperated with the investigation team so far. The court is likely to take up his plea on Friday. The police had questioned him for 13 hours along with Dileep and his manager Appunni at the Police Club in Aluva near Kochi on June 28.
Rejecting Nadir Shah’s allegations, investigating officer AV George, Superintendent of Police (Aluva Rural), said “(We) may have to question him (again). The police have not conducted its investigation by threatening anybody so far. We don’t have to threaten anybody. The investigation is being carried out scientifically.”
Asked whether the Prosecution would oppose Nadir Shah’s anticipatory bail plea, George told newsmen, “We don’t know what the statement is. let us see it first. I can’t say anything without seeing it.” He added that he could not reveal at this stage the contents of Nadir Shah’s statements to the police. The actor-director could be questioned once he left the hospital. Dileep, arrested on July 10 and lodged since then at the Sub Jail in his hometown Aluva under judicial remand, had got a two-hour break on Wednesday to visit his house for performing the rites associated with his father’s death anniversary.
He has been named as eleventh accused in the case and the police are currently in the process of preparing the chargesheet against him.
The superstar has been accused of entering into a conspiracy with first accused Sunil Kumar alias Pulsar Suni, who has worked as driver with several film actors, to physically and sexually assault the actress in such a way that its humiliation would not leave her for entire life. He has been slapped with several serious charges including gang rape and criminal conspiracy.
The frontline Malayalam actress, who has also been active in other South Indian film industries, was attacked by a gang led by Suni in a moving car on the night of February 17 when she was on her way to Kochi from Thrissur. Suni and some of his associates were arrested within a week of the incident and the first chargesheet in the case was filed subsequently.
Nadir Shah has approached the court for anticipatory bail in the context of reports that the police are preparing to question several film personalities in connection with the case. The police have already questioned actress Kavya Madhavan, Dileep’s present wife, her mother Shyamala and at least two members of the State Assembly in connection with the case.
Immediately after arresting Dileep, the police had reportedly planned to make Nadir Shah an approver as part of a strategy to strengthen the case of conspiracy against the superstar. But they had dropped the plan later after the Government’s legal experts pointed out the possibility that he might turn hostile during trial.