CB to oppose Dileep’s anticipatory bail plea in High Court

‘When the plea comes up before HC, we will be ready with the counter’

With actor Dileep moving the Kerala High Court for anticipatory bail in the wake of a fresh case registered against him by the Crime Branch (CB) invoking non-bailable charges, the investigation agency has prioritised effectively opposing it.

The Crime Branch on Sunday registered the case against Dileep and five others based on a statement by director Balachandrakumar that the actor had threatened to endanger police officers who were probing the 2017 case of sexual assault on a woman actor, in which Dileep was arraigned as the eighth accused. Dileep’s brother Anoop, brother-in-law Sooraj, Appu, Babu Chengamanad and an identifiable person are the other accused in the case.

“Whenever his plea comes up before the court, we will be ready with the counter,” said investigation sources.

Following revelations

The registration of the case comes close on the heels of revelations, including that on the alleged plans to endanger the police officers, made by director Balachandrakumar implicating Dileep. Following the revelations, a special investigation team headed by Crime Branch Additional Director General of Police S. Sreejith was constituted to probe them.

The First Information Report (FIR) in the new case was registered on a complaint by Deputy Superintendent of Police Baiju Paulose, the investigation officer in the actor assault case. Crime Branch Superintendent M.P. Mohanachandran Nair will investigate the case.

The FIR was submitted before the Aluva Judicial First-Class Magistrate Court on Monday. The case has been registered under Sections 506, 34, 120, 118 of the Indian Penal Code, which cover provisions, including criminal intimidation, common intention to carry out a crime and conspiracy. An audio clip handed over by Balachandrakumar to the probe team reportedly has details of the conversation Dileep had with the five other accused, in which there is a threat to harm Mr. Paulose in a lorry accident.

The FIR says the actor spoke of endangering the lives of five police officers — A.V. George (whose visual the actor showed on YouTube, as per Balachandrakumar), Sojan, Sudarshan, Sandhya, and Mr. Paulose. Dileep’s brother-in-law also hinted at “deploying a lorry to endanger Mr. Paulose, for which the expense would come to ₹1.5 crore.”