Eighty-five days after his arrest in a case in connection with a woman actor’s abduction and sexual assault, actor Dileep on Tuesday walked out of the Aluva sub-jail to a rousing reception by his fans.
Earlier in the day, the Kerala High Court granted him bail subject to strict conditions while allowing his bail petition. His two bail pleas were dismissed by lower courts earlier.
The actor, who landed in police custody on July 10, came out of the jail around 5.15 p.m. amidst much fanfare and celebrations by the jubilant supporters. Besides fans, a host of film personalities, including actor Dharmajan and Kalabhavan Ansar, had reached the spot to greet the actor.
The frenzy on his emergence from the jail was such that the crowd control measures put in place by the police were rendered ineffective and as he walked out. The actor was showered with rose petals and slogans in his support rent the air.
Greeting the supporters from his car, the actor spent a couple of minutes at the spot before proceeding to his ancestral home at Paravur Junction. At the head of those who received him at the residence were his wife and actor Kavya Madhavan and family members and actor Siddique.
The actor was released soon after Anoop, his brother, produced a release order by the Judicial First Class Magistrate in Angamaly, based on the High Court order.
Meanwhile, the special investigation team probing the case is slated to submit the chargesheet against the actor and others in the case in a week.
Passport to be surrendered
The court ordered that the actor be released on bail on his executing a bond for ₹1 lakh with two solvent sureties for the like sum at the magistrate court concerned. He should appear before the investigation officer as and when called, cooperate with the investigation, and not interfere in the investigation till the filing of the final report after his release.
He should surrender his passport before the magistrate court within seven days from the date of execution of the bond. The last condition is that he “shall not directly or indirectly or through his agency try to influence, intimidate, threaten, or coerce the victim or any of the prosecution witnesses, by any means, including words expressed or disseminated through any media, including print, electronic, or visual media”. It would be open to the magistrate to take steps, including cancellation of the bail, after notice in the event of violation of any of the conditions by the petitioner, the court ordered.
The court observed that in the light of substantial completion of the investigation and collection of materials that the prosecution proposed to rely on, there was a definite change of circumstances from the ones that existed at the time of consideration of his previous bail applications. The court added that it was very pertinent to note that, though the prosecution allegation was very serious and the petitioner was alleged to be the person who engineered the crime, unlike the other accused, he had not participated in the actual sexual assault.
His role was sought to be established with other circumstantial evidence, including documentary and oral ones. The statements of more than 20 crucial witnesses had been recorded. Hence, further custody of the petitioner on the apprehension that he would interfere in the investigation at this stage might not be justified. Besides, he had no criminal antecedents, even according to the prosecution. The anxiety of the prosecution could be taken care of by providing effective conditions for his bail.
