Crime Branch interrogates actor Dileep, others for second day
Kochi(PTI): The interrogation of actor Dileep and others continued at the Crime Branch office here for the second consecutive day on Monday in a case registered against them for allegedly threatening officials probing the sexual assault of an actress in 2017.
The actor and four others--his brother, brother-in-law, driver and a friend, appeared before the crime branch officials at 9 AM for interrogation as directed by the Kerala High Court.
The accused were questioned for 11 hours on Sunday by five separate teams, the statements were recorded and the interrogation was monitored by ADGP S Sreejith and IG Gopesh Agarwal.
Meanwhile, Crime Branch sources said the agency was close to making someone an approver in case. It is also learnt that the investigating team will be interrogating the accused with regard to certain contradictions in their yesterday's statements.
The High Court, while considering the anticipatory bail plea, on Saturday granted interim protection to Dileep from arrest but directed him and other accused to appear before the investigating officers on January 23, 24 and 25 for interrogation.
Crime Branch sources had earlier said that the interrogation of the accused will be recorded as they suspect that the actor and others might approach the court alleging harassment during questioning.
Justice Gopinath P had directed the accused to fully cooperate with the investigation and directed them to be available for interrogation from 9 AM to 8 PM on the three days.
The court had also warned the accused that in case of non-cooperation, the interim protection from arrest will be lifted and custody will be granted to the Crime Branch.
The court had directed the public prosecutor to submit a report on the interrogation and material evidence collected in a sealed cover on January 27, when the matter would be heard again.
Besides Dileep, his younger brother P Sivakumar and brother-in-law T N Suraj, driver Appu and a friend Baiju Chengamanadu were asked to present themselves for interrogation.
The Crime Branch had, on January 9, registered the case on a complaint filed by an investigating officer based on a purported audio clip of Dileep, which was released by a TV channel in which the actor was allegedly heard conspiring to attack the official.
The actor and five others were booked under various provisions of the IPC, including Sections 116 (abetment), 118 (concealing design to commit offence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (criminal act done by several people).
Dileep has claimed that this apprehension was borne out of the past conduct of the complainant officer who has been trying to falsely implicate him in the sexual assault case.
The actress 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 initially, police arrested seven people. Dileep was arrested subsequently and released on bail later.
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Delhi Police: No case filed against individual who called Mohd Zubair 'Jihadi' in tweet, High Court
New Delhi: In response to a plea filed by Mohammed Zubair regarding an allegedly offensive tweet in 2020, the Delhi Police informed the Delhi High Court that no case has been registered against the individual who referred to Zubair as a "jihadi."
The tweet in question was posted by Jagdish Singh, who accused Zubair of cyber sexual harassment of his granddaughter. However, the police found no incriminating evidence against Singh, stating that his comment, "Once a jihadi is always jihadi," did not cause fear or alarm to the public.
Zubair's plea stems from a tweet he made, questioning a user's appropriateness in using derogatory language online while displaying a profile picture with his granddaughter. Zubair's tweet, which blurred the minor's face, prompted an FIR against him under various acts including the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.
The status report has been filed in Zubair's plea against the FIR under POCSO Act — he has already been given a clean chit in the case.
“Thus, the captioned tweet by the complainant Mr. Jagdish Singh and his examination in this regard has revealed that the captioned tweet on 18.04.2020 does not cause fear or alarm to the public or any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against any state or against public tranquility,” the Delhi Police has said.
The status report added: “That in view of above, no case has been registered in relation to the captioned tweet against the complainant i.e. Mr. Jagdish Singh.”
The Delhi Police filed the response after it was pulled up by the court last year over no action taken against the man.
The case pertains to a tweet posted by Zubair, sharing the profile picture of a user and asking if it was appropriate for him to use derogatory language in replies while using a profile picture with his granddaughter in it. Zubair in his tweet had blurred the face of the minor girl. U
"Hello XXX. Does your cute grand daughter know about your part time job of abusing people on social media? I suggest you to change your profile pic," Zubair had said in the tweet.
In the FIR lodged in Delhi, offences under the POCSO Act, Section 509B of IPC, Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act were invoked against Zubair.
However, the Delhi Police found no criminality in Zubair's tweet and granted him interim protection from arrest in September 2020. The court directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Cell to provide a status report on the investigation, while also instructing Twitter India to expedite the request filed by the Cyber Cell.
