Actress abduction case: Actor Dileep approaches HC, seeks CBI probe
Kochi, June 13 : The eighth accused in the Malayalam actress abduction case, superstar Dileep, on Wednesday filed a petition in the Kerala High Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case.
In the petition which is likely to be taken up in the court on Thursday, Dileep pointed out that he was framed by the police in the case, and he has no role in it.
Meanwhile, the prosecution in the case is also geared up to take on Dileep as they have decided to bring before the court that "an accused in a case has no right to decide on what sort of probe should take place and moreover, this is nothing but a ploy to delay the trial in the case", which is all set to begin soon.
The police probe team has already submitted the detailed charge sheet in the case and the court on March 14 had summoned all the accused in the case, a common norm just before the trial starts.
Dileep was arrested after two rounds of questioning on July 10, 2017, for his alleged role in the conspiracy hatched for the abduction of a Malayalam actress.
Dileep's former wife Manju Warrier is one of the witnesses in the case. After being in jail for 85 days, Dileep secured bail on October 3, 2017.
The actress was allegedly abducted on February 17 last year while she was on her way to Kochi from Thrissur.
Pulsar Suni, the prime accused, drove her around for two hours before she was dropped near the home of director-actor Lal, who later called the police.
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Illegal sand mining has created environmental crisis in National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal riverbed sand mining has created an "environmental crisis" and wreaked "havoc" in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, causing a grave risk to the gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation project.
Slamming the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for their utter failure in dealing with the issue, the apex court directed them to install high-resolution Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining in the area.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed that live feed of such surveillance cameras shall be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the superintendent of police or the senior superintendent of police of the concerned district and the divisional forest officer.
It said these officers shall ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.
"It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote," Justice Mehta said while pronouncing the order.
The bench directed the authorities in these three states to initiate prompt and necessary action under law if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light.
It said the authorities shall ensure seizure of vehicles or machinery found involved in illegal sand mining and also initiate prosecution of persons involved in it.
The bench, which passed several other directions, posted the matter for hearing on May 11.
The top court passed the order in a suo motu case titled 'In Re: Illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threat to endangered aquatic wildlife'.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400-sq km tri-state protected area.
Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river Dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long and narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.
On March 13, the top court took suo motu cognisance of news reports about rampant illegal sand mining on the banks of the Chambal river.
