Actor Dileep granted bail

KOCHI: Malayalam actor Dileep, who was arrested in July in connection with the actress abduction and sexual assault case, was on Tuesday granted bail by the Kerala High Court.

Four bail pleas filed by Dileep were earlier rejected -- twice each in a magistrate court at Angamaly and the high court. The bail was granted by Justice Sunil Thomas after imposing stringent conditions, including surrendering of his passport, a deposit of Rs one lakh and two solvent sureties for the like amount.

Another condition was that he should not tamper with evidence and appear before investigating officers as and when required.

Granting him bail, Justice Thomas said investigation against Dileep was in the final stages and his further custody was not necessary.

The actor, arrested on July 10, was in judicial custody and lodged in the Aluva sub-jail for the past 85 days.

Dileep in his bail petition contended that he was totally innocent and that he was falsely implicated in the case as part of a larger conspiracy by a powerful section in the film industry with a view to ousting him from the field.

According to Dileep, he was arrested in the case on the basis of the confession of prime accused ‘Pulsar’ Suni.

He had never seen or heard, or spoken with Suni. The confession was a fabricated one to destroy his film career, Dileep had submitted.

Besides, the de facto complainant the actress had never raised any allegation against him. The allegation of the police that the crime was committed in furtherance of a conspiracy hatched in 2013 was false, he had submitted.

The high court had on September 27 reserved its orders on a fresh bail plea filed by Dileep. Justice Sunil Thomas had concluded the hearing on the third bail application filed by the actor before the court.

The police have claimed that the conspiracy to abduct and assault the actress in a moving car and film the act was hatched by Dileep.

Six persons, including prime accused ‘Pulsar’ Suni, were arrested in connection with the actress abduction case.

The actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and allegedly molested inside her car for two hours by the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on February 17 night and later escaped in a busy area.

Earlier, a magistrate court had granted him time from from 8 am to 10 am on September 6 to perform his father’s death anniversary rituals at his residence in Aluva on September 6.