The police team probing the abduction and sexual assault of a female actor in Kochi has intensified its search for Appunni, an aide of actor Dileep and Pratheesh Chacko, former counsel of Sunil Kumar aka Pulsar Suni, key accused in the case.
According to officials, the interrogation of Appunni and the lawyer was crucial in taking the investigation forward as the probe so far pointed to their roles in the post-crime scenario. The police are of the view that Pulsar Suni had handed over the memory card containing visuals of the actor being abused to Mr. Chacko.
As part of it, the police subjected a junior lawyer of Mr.Chacko to interrogation late on Sunday.
Similarly, they also found that Appunni had attempted to work out a settlement between Dileep and Suni over the quotation amount. The officials are of the view that the duo might have gone into hiding so as to avoid being interrogated along with the accused actor.
The officials are also not ruling out chances of Appunni being arraigned as an accused. Meanwhile, Dileep, the 11th accused in the case, is now slated to approach the higher courts seeking bail on Monday.
WCC flays statement
Meanwhile, the Women Collective in Cinema (WCC), a platform of women artists in Malayalam film industry, has condemned an alleged statement by the former State police chief T.P. Sen Kumar against the woman actor, who survived the sexual assault.
