The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in July took over the probe in the case of the suspicious death of violinist Balabhaskar who died in a road accident in 2018. The renowned violinist had been traveling early morning in a car from Thrissur to Thiruvannathapuram with his family, when an accident killed his young daughter on the spot, and him a week later.
Since Balabhaskar’s death, several twists and turns have emerged in the case, from links to gold smuggling accused to the musician’s family alleging that his death was not an accident and demanding a detailed probe.
Here we bring to you the latest developments in the case, since the CBI took over the investigation.
CBI sleuths took Balabhaskar’s wife Lekshmi’s statement. On Tuesday evening, CBI officials arrived at her residence in Thiruvananthapuram to record her statement in the case. Lakshmi along with driver Arjun are the two people who survived the accused in 2018.
Following the accident, both survivors had given conflicting accounts of the incident, with Lakshmi claiming that it was Arjun who was driving the car while the latter said that he had taken a break and that Balabhaskar was behind the wheel at the time of the crash.
The Crime Branch, which was earlier investigating the case, could not conclusively establish who was driving the car. They later stated that it was Arjun who was driving the car. This will also be looked at by the CBI during their probe.
Doctor at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College claims Balabhaskar did not drive the car
Soon after the CBI took over the probe, a doctor at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hospital came out with claims that Balabhaskar had not been driving the car at the time of the accident. Dr Faisal R, a medical intern, who was on duty at the emergency ward on September 25, 2018, when the accident took place, has stated the same.
Balabhaskar, Lekshmi and their child Thejaswini were first rushed to the Medical College hospital’s emergency ward soon after the accident. Following this, they were shifted to a private hospital in Ananthapuri where the musician succumbed to his injuries a week later on October 2, 2018.
According to the doctor, the violinist had been conscious for 10 minutes and had inquired about the health status of his wife and daughter. He added that Balabhaskar could not feel sensation in his hands and legs and had suffered a serious spinal cord injury. By the time he was taken for scans, the musician had lost consciousness, the doctor added.
Meanwhile Kalabhavan Soby, a theatre artist, who says he is an eye-witness in the case, made explosive allegations on the musician’s death last week. Soby claims that Balabhaskar’s death was not an accident but a deliberate murder.
He claims that a gang of quotation workers had reached the Pallipuram National Highway and had broken the windows of the musician’s vehicle. Soby reiterated these claims in Malayalam channels. However, the authenticity of his allegations are yet to be investigated and proven. Several questions such as ‘what were Lekshmi and daughter (who were also in the car) doing at the time of this assault’ remained unanswered by Soby.
The theatre artist also claimed that he spotted PS Sarith, one of the accused in the gold smuggling case at the site of the accident.
Suspicions increased in the case after two of Balabhaskar’s aides Prakash Thampi and Vishnu were caught at the Thiruvananthapuram airport with 40 kilograms of smuggled gold.
Further, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) stated that the duo had collectively smuggled 200 kilograms of gold from the Gulf to Kerala in 10 foreign trips, according to reports.
While Thampi has worked as Balabhaskar’s programme manager, Vishnu used to manage the late musician’s finances. The duo were arrested by the DRI and remanded to judicial custody in 2019.
In live discussions on media channels, Balabhaskar’s family members have raised suspicions in the case. The musician’s cousin Priya Venugopal alleged that the family, including Balabhaskar’s father, was informed of the accident much later. Decisions such as which hospital to take the injured musician to were made by Prakash Thampi and others, she added.
She also questioned why the musician was shifted to a little known private hospital in Ananthapuri hospital, which was 15 kilometres away when renowned institutions such as Sree Chitra, KIMS were also the same distance from the site of the accident.
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