Two months after the police filed the first set of chargesheet in case on the abduction and sexual assault of a female film actor in Kochi, it has taken a new turn with actor Dileep and filmmaker Nadirshah coming out publicly about a blackmailing bid allegedly on behalf of Sunil Kumar Surendran, aka ‘Pulsar’ Suni, the first accused in the case.
Official sources said the actor had already filed a complaint in this direction with the office of the State Police Chief (SPC) on April 20. It stated that a person, identified as Vishnu, had contacted Nadirsha and Appunni, a close aide of Dileep, over phone and sought ₹1.5 crore for not targeting the latter.
Confirming the development, Nadirshah told mediapersons here on Saturday that the caller had introduced himself as a friend of Pulsar Suni and told him that several persons from the Malayalam film industry wanted to drag Dileep’s name into the case.
‘‘The caller also mentioned a few names from the industry, who were said to have been forcing Suni to reveal Dileep’s name. We have not taken it for face value but filed a police complaint as it amounted to blackmailing,’’ Mr. Nadirsha said.
Following the development, Dileep had filed a complaint with the then State Police Chief Loknath Behra, along with an audio clip of the phone conversation. ‘‘The investigation team is looking into it and more details could not be divulged at this point. The team will verify the authenticity of the complaint,” said a senior police officer. According to him, the tape would undergo a forensic examination and the voice of the person involved in the audio would be cross-checked with that of the voice in the tape.
Meanwhile, official sources maintained that a police team had already subjected Vishnu to interrogation.
Officials of the Kakkanad district jail confirmed that Suni had shared the cell with one Vishnu, who had been arrested in connection with a chain-snatching case. ‘‘They had spent a couple of weeks together and Vishnu was later released on completion of his sentence,’’ they said. Dileep had earlier filed a complaint with the DGP regarding his name being dragged into the issue by media outlets.
