Days after incriminating audio clips concerning actor Dileep, accused in the actor sexual assault case in Kerala, came out, the state police Crime Branch has filed a First Information Report against him. The case pertains to an audio clip in which a voice, allegedly belonging to Dileep's brother-in-law Suraj, can be heard talking about a conspiracy to murder the investigating official and Deputy Superintendent Baiju Paulose. The conversation, allegedly between Suraj and Dileep, took place in November 2017 at the latter's house in Aluva. A series of audio clips from that period pertaining to the sexual assault case were released by filmmaker Balachandrakumar, who said he was a friend of Dileep. Reporter TV released the audio clips which have led to the filing of the FIR.
The Kerala government formed a new investigation team for the case in light of the developments. Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Sreejith will head the team. KP Philp, Inspector General (IG), Crime Branch will also be part of the investigation. Station House Officer of Nedumbassery will also be part of the investigation team. Baiju Paulose, against whom the alleged threatening audio came out, will continue as the investigating official. Crime Branch officials Sudarshan and Sojan will also be part of the team.
In one set of audio clips, a voice, allegedly that of Dileep, could be heard saying that the five police officials who were investigating the case, would be “dealt with.” In another clip, a male voice says that only if they got out could they take revenge. A third audio clip, which has muffled voices, has one person talking about running a truck over Baiju Paulose. "We may have to look at another one and a half crores," says the voice.There is audio indication in the clip that some others are listening.
The new FIR is against six people including Dileep, Suraj, Dileep's brother Anoop, a man that Balachandrakumar addressed as 'VIP' and two others. They are charged under IPC sections 116 (abetment of offence punishable with imprisonment), 118 (concealing design to commit offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), 120B (party to criminal conspiracy), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (criminal act done by several people).
Reporter TV says that the Crime Branch will hand over a notice to Dileep for questioning him in the case, and he will be summoned for questioning on Tuesday.
After the audio clips came out, the police began further investigations into the case and the Kerala government approached the Supreme Court for extension of the trial by six more months. Some of the new revelations are quite serious in nature and needed further probing, said the government plea. Balachandrakumar said to TNM that he had witnessed the friendship between Dileep and Pulsar Suni, the main accused in the case. The director also alleged that Dileep saw a video of the woman actor's assault before it was produced in the court.
The case pertains to the sexual assault of a prominent actor in Ernakulam in February 2017, when she was travelling from a shooting location in Thrissur. A bunch of men abducted her and sexually assaulted her in a moving vehicle. Days after the assault, Pulsar Suni was arrested, and a few months later, actor Dileep was arrested for allegedly masterminding the attack and paying Pulsar Suni to record a video of the assault. Dileep spent nearly three months in jail before getting bail. The trial in the case has been delayed for years.
Watch: Why do we cover the Dileep case