Prime suspect, co-accused nabbed from Kochi court

KERALA ACTRESS ASSAULT

SIX DAYS after an actress in Kerala was abducted and assaulted in a moving car, the prime suspect in the case was nabbed when he reached a Kochi courtroom to surrender on Thursday.

Police took Sunil Kumar alias Pulsar Sunil and his accomplice V P Vijeesh into custody when they reached the additional chief judicial magistrate court during the lunch break, around 1.10 pm. The two reached a ground near the court on a bike bearing a Tamil Nadu registration number.

The Kochi courtroom witnessed dramatic scenes when the two entered with their lawyer to surrender. Soon after they entered, police nabbed them. The magistrate was away for lunch.

Despite opposition from their lawyer, the accused were taken to a police club at Aluva near Kochi and their arrest was recorded. In the afternoon, advocate S Krishnakumar moved the court against the police action and demanded that the accused be produced there. But the court said such an order was unnecessary as no case against the accused was pending before it. The court, instead, directed the police to produce the accused before the investigating officer.

The appearance of Sunil and his co-accused in court is being seen as a setback for Kerala Police, which had launched a manhunt for them. Besides launching a combing operation in Tamil Nadu, the police had been keeping an eye on all major roads. But Sunil managed to escape the police net and reach the court.

The actress was abducted and assaulted Friday night while she was on her way from Thrissur to Kochi. Her driver Martin Antony was arrested the next day. Three other accused were nabbed subsequently.