Actor Dileep moves Kerala HC against further probe in actress assault case
Kochi, Feb 3: Actor Dileep on Thursday moved a fresh plea in the Kerala High Court opposing further investigation being carried out by the police in the sexual assault case of an actress, alleging that it was a "wilful attempt" to protract the trial in the matter.
The actor, in his plea filed through advocate Philip T Varghese, has contended that further investigation in the case was not permissible as a final report had been filed in November 2017, charges were framed in January 2020 and only one prosecution witness -- one of the investigating officers -- remained to be examined.
The petition alleges that under the guise of further investigation, "a series of vindictive acts" were being carried out by the police.
One instance of such acts was the allegedly false case foisted on the actor and other male members of his family accusing them of conspiring to murder police officers investigating the actress assault case, the petition claims.
It seeks quashing of the report, filed by the police in the trial court, allegedly containing the statement of filmmaker Balachandra Kumar and further proceedings pursuant to the same.
Kumar had recently made some startling revelations against Dileep in the actress assault case through the media.
He has also claimed that there is evidence including digital ones to prove that Dileep had influenced the witnesses.
The actor's latest plea also seeks a declaration that a further probe being carried out in the case was "illegal" and a direction to the trial court to "eschew" the same from the record.
The actress-victim, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, was abducted and allegedly molested in her car for two hours by some of the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area. The entire act was filmed by some of the accused to blackmail the actress.
There are 10 accused in the case and police have arrested seven. Dileep was arrested subsequently and released on bail.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
