Malayalam actor rape case: Main accused held from court

Kochi: Two men accused of abducting and raping an actress were arrested Thursday after they tried to hoodwink the police, dressed as lawyers.

“Pulsar” Suni and co-accused Vijeesh scaled the wall of a court complex here and sneaked into the additional chief judicial magistrate’s (ACJM) chamber.

However, both were whisked away by the police and interrogated. ADGP (south zone) B. Sandhaya led the questioning, especially about their motive for committing the crime. The police also sought to know whether they were hired by someone.

ACJM Siju Sheikh, who heard a petition filed by the accused’s counsel, directed the police to hand them over to the investigating officer and produce them in court within 24 hours after arrest.

Five others (already arrested) along with the duo have been charged for rape, abduction and wrongful confinement of the actress on February 17.

People familiar with the matter said that Suni told the police that he had plotted for nearly a month to trap the actress and blackmail her for extortion.,

However, this contradicts police reports that he was a hireling who committed the crime at the behest of someone nursing a grudge against the actress.

The two accused came to the court all the way from Coimbatore, 190 km away, on a Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle. 

When they reached outside the court complex, they scaled the perimeter wall and went to court room. Some 12 advocates accompanied the culprits. Then the duo stood close to the witness box. But other lawyers there recognised them. 

Soon, policemen in plainclothes also confirmed the identities of the accused and alerted their control room. As the police moved in, the duo resisted arrest, and Suni fell on the floor in the melee.

Shouts and counter-shouts were heard as the police had a tussle with the accused’s lawyers, who protested against the police for arresting the duo who had come to surrender in court.

Although the police took the duo into custody, it remained clueless as to how the two managed to reach the court premises despite surveillance.

Mr Sunil’s counsel later submitted a petition to the ACJM, alleging police highhandedness in taking his clients from the court premises.