Two witnesses in the Kerala actor assault case, the trial of which is being held in a special court in Kochi, have not stuck to their original statements as given earlier to the police. It is learned that actor Sidhique and Bhamaa have made statements in court which are contradictory to the ones initially given to the investigation officers in the case.
Sources confirmed to TNM that both the actors have changed their statements in court on Thursday. Earlier, two other witnesses — actors Edavela Babu and Bindhu Panicker — had turned hostile in the case.
The case pertains to the abduction and sexual assault of a popular actor in Kerala in 2017 where actor Dileep has been accused of masterminding the crime, allegedly due to personal vengeance.
According to reports, Sidhique and Bhamaa had given statements to police about the argument that broke out between the survivor actor and accused Dileep during the rehearsal of a stage show of Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) before the crime took place. However, it is learned that in the court, both Sidique and Bhama did not mention the same.
It was actor Edavela Babu who first turned hostile in the case by changing his statement and speaking in support of accused Dileep. He had earlier told the police that he was aware of a complaint filed by the survivor actor against Dileep in AMMA, stating that Dileep was denying her acting opportunities. However, he changed this statement in court.
Following this, actor Bindu Panicker, another witness in the case, turned hostile. She had earlier told investigating officers that she was aware of Dileep meeting the first accused in the case, Pulsar Suni, at Hotel Abad Plaza in Kochi in 2013. However, earlier in March, in court, she said she ‘can’t remember’ this.
Meanwhile, the trial court on Friday will consider the plea of prosecution counsel to cancel the bail of accused Dileep. The prosecution had filed such a plea reportedly alleging that Dileep tried to influence a witness in the case.
It is also learned that Dileep has now approached the trial court with allegations that certain media houses are trying to defame him.
Watch actors Sidhique and Bhamaa in court: