The Kerala High Court yesterday deferred to March 3 the decision on the bail plea of three men accused of molesting a leading Malayalam film actress last week.
Police have identified Pulsar Suni, Manikandan and V P Vigeesh as main suspects in the crime. The 30-year-old actor was assaulted in a moving car in Kochi for two hours from 9pm on Friday.
Though the police were immediately alerted of the crime, the suspects managed to flee to Coimbatore in neighbouring Tamil Nadu late Saturday night after hiring a lawyer to move their anticipatory bail application.
The police arrested Manikandan from Palakkad on Monday night, but Suni, the mastermind, and the other accomplice remain at large, even after four days, despite Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s assurance that the suspects will soon be arrested.
Police had arrested Martin, the actor’s driver who allegedly helped the attackers. Later two others, Vadival Saleem and Pradeep, who are not directly involved in the crime, were detained. A court remanded the three in custody for two weeks.
Police revealed Manikandan denied any role in the assault, claiming the plan had been to abduct the actor and extort money. He claimed he knew about the target only after entering her vehicle.
Manikandan also said the gang had been given a ‘contract’ for the job. “Suni’s plan had been to record the assault and then use it to blackmail the actor,” Manikandan claimed adding he had gone along for the money.
The three parted ways in Coimbatore after a drunken quarrel over the money. The police also are looking into the “conspiracy” angle involving others in the film industry.
Forensic experts inspected the car in which the actor was allegedly assaulted to verify their claims. During the attack, the men are believed to have threatened to drug the actor and hand her over to 20 men ‘waiting at an apartment’.
Meanwhile, adding fuel to speculation that enmity in the film industry had a role in the incident, ruling legislator and former minister, K B Ganesh Kumar, said the new generation filmmakers indulged in all kinds of illegal activities.
“There are drug abusers and money lenders among the new generation filmmakers who use such elements for their personal interests. Some are even engaged in real estate business and employ these gangsters,” he told reporters in Kollam.
“I have met the actor and spoke to the investigating officers. Her condition is worse than you think. I’ll soon meet the chief minister and apprise him of everything.”
Kumar said he had a deeper understanding of the industry than the state-run Film Academy head Kamal and the friendly atmosphere was a thing of the past.
“A lot of undesirable tendencies have crept into the industry,” said the lawmaker whom the new-wave filmmakers mostly neglect.
“A lot of anti-social elements have entered the field. Many are using goons. The drug mafia is active in Kochi. Look at the standard of films they make, including those starring Mammootty and Mohanlal,” he added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party alleged the government allowed the culprits to remain in the city a day after the incident, giving them time to arrange a lawyer and sign their bail application.
They also demanded a probe into the role of actor Bineesh Kodiyeri, the elder son of Communist Party of India (Marxist) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
“He is leading the mafia in the industry. Balakrishnan’s cold response to the incident points to this,” BJP leader A N Radhakrishnan said. “The chief minister is helpless before him.”
Cinema minister A K Balan denied the allegations and said the culprits would soon face justice.
“We will flush out all those in hiding,” he told reporters in Kozhikode.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who spoke to the actress over phone on Monday, had also promised stern action against those responsible for the February 17 incident.
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