Actor assault case: Kerala CM denies political interference in police probe

Vijayan says his government is with the victim

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that his government was with the victim of the 2017 actor assault case and that the police probe has not been interfered with in any manner by the Left administration.

The Chief Minister, who was addressing a Thrikkakara by-poll related meeting, said that his government has not stopped the police from proceeding with the case nor has it ever said to the force that it cannot take action against prominent persons.

The police are free to take action against whomever irrespective of their social or political standing, Vijayan said.

His remarks came in the wake of a plea moved by the victim in the Kerala High Court alleging political interference by the ruling LDF government and that there was a move to derail the probe.

"It is painfully submitted that the Government of Kerala which gave support to the cause of the petitioner/victim at the initial stage and allowed a fair investigation in the case by police officers of high integrity and took credit of the investigation politically has backtracked from its constitutional legal commitment of conducting a free, fair and complete investigation in the case," she has said in her plea.

Earlier in the day, LDF convenor E P Jayarajan categorically rejected the charges, saying it should be examined whether there was any vested interest behind her plea.

Though the victim had harshly criticised the Left government and raised serious allegations against the trial court in her plea, the CPI(M) veteran said anyone can approach the court with such a petition but it would not impact the prospects of the ruling front in upcoming Thrikkakara bypoll anyway.

He said the Pinarayi Vijayan government is the one which has always condemned the attacks against women and children and taken stringent action against the assaulters.

Subsequently, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that the Left government always extended its support to the survivor and that there was a mystery behind how such a matter came up just before the Thrikkakara by-election.

Balakrishnan said it was the Kerala government which invited the survivor to the International Film Festival of Kerala as a chief guest and honoured her. He said it was a gesture showing that the government was with the survivor.

"We would like to openly declare that the government and the party stand with the survivor. The government and the party will provide her all support and security. The Left government always stood with her," he said.

The victim in her plea has also alleged that Dileep has unlawfully influenced some of the politicians of the ruling front in the state and attempted to interfere with the further investigation in the case and prematurely close the same.

"...it is reliably learned that the prosecution as well as the investigation agency are now threatened by the political higher-ups to end the investigation halfway and file the additional final report in a half-cooked manner. This clearly establishes the illegal nexus between the accused and the ruling front," the plea has said.

Raising allegations against the trial court, the petition has said it was clear from the records that the "illegal access/ tampering was done" while one of the digital evidence was in judicial custody.

The petition has said even though the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) authorities had submitted a report to the court, the judge kept the same without making any entries in the court records.

The petitioner has also alleged that Dileep, a film star and a multimillionaire, was capable of "playing any heinous tricks to influence anybody" and do "any blackmailing techniques to keep others under his captivity".

The actor-victim who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films was abducted and allegedly molested in her car for two hours by some of the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area. The entire act was filmed by some of the accused to blackmail the actor.

There are 10 accused in the case and police arrested seven persons. Dileep was arrested subsequently and released on bail.