SC extends interim protection from arrest granted to actor Siddique in 'rape' case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to Malayalam film actor Siddique in an alleged rape case.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma extended its interim order of September 30 in which it granted him interim protection from arrest in the case and directed him to cooperate in the investigation.
The bench passed the order after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Siddique, said he had a bad throat and sought some time to argue the matter.
At the outset, Rohatgi said the investigating agency is repeatedly asking the actor about his phone and laptop which he had in 2016 but does not have it now.
He said Siddique has met the complainant only once and the probe agency is also seeking his passport and Aadhaar number.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Kerala Police, said Siddique has been appearing before it but is not cooperating in the probe and giving evasive replies.
On October 22, the top court extended the interim protection from arrest for two weeks.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma allowed Siddique to file his rejoinder affidavit to the status report filed by Kerala Police, which alleged a lack of cooperation in the investigation on his part.
Siddique had earlier sought time to file a rejoinder affidavit to the status report filed by Kerala Police and claimed that he has been cooperating with the police's investigation.
Kerala Police, in its status report, alleged that the veteran actor was hindering the investigation and had destroyed electronic devices besides deleting social media accounts.
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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.
