The Special Investigation Team probing the abduction and sexual assault on a female actor in Kochi on Thursday night arrested lawyer Pratheesh Chacko, former counsel of Sunil Kumar aka ‘Pulsar’ Suni, prime accused in the case.
The police recorded his arrest after interrogating him at the Aluva Police Club.
Mr. Chacko is said to have given the police inputs on the mobile phone allegedly used to shoot the actor’s video. On Wednesday, the High Court had disposed of an anticipatory bail application by the lawyer
The police had searched his office and residence and interrogated Raju Chacko, a junior lawyer of Mr.Chacko, in this connection. During the search, the police recovered a bag containing four SIM cards, memory card, card reader, among others. As part of the investigation, the SIT verified bank accounts of Suni’s relatives and are examining the reported irregularities in the deposits by his mother.
Abduction case in 2011
Meanwhile, the investigation into the abduction bid on another female actor in 2011 took a new turn with the cops probing whether it was a case of quotation from any person within the film industry.
While the co-accused of Suni told the police that they had planned the actor’s abduction and shooting of her obscene visuals on their own, the cops are investigating whether the real motivation behind the act came from a third party.
All the co-accused of Suni, identified as Ashraf Kunjumon, Suneesh E.K., Abin Kuriakose, and Bibin V. Paul, had earlier told the cops that they had no connection with Suni before the incident.
The police recorded the arrest of the accused late on Wednesday after securing the custody of prime accused Pulsar Suni. The police on Thursday took the accused to the Ernakulam South Railway Station from where the actor was abducted and a hotel in the city where she had stayed on the night of the incident.
They were later produced before the court, which sent them to judicial custody.
Dileep’s bail plea
The Kerala High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a bail petition filed by actor Dileep in the actor assault case.
During the hearing on the petition, Director General of Prosecution Manjeri Sreedharan Nair submitted that Dileep, the eleventh accused in the case, was the kingpin in the conspiracy hatched to execute the crime.