Actress abduction case: Actor Dileep complaints of blackmailing

Kochi: In a new twist to the actress kidnap case, actor and director Nadirsha, who is actor Dileep's close friend, has alleged that Vishnu, a co-prisoner of Pulsar Suni, the accused in the assault case involving a famous actress, called him up saying that unless Dileep paid him an amount of Rs 1.5 crore, he would cite him as the mastermind behind the crime.

Dileep later clarified the development saying that Nadirsha handed him over the recorded phone conversation. Dileep further said he filed a complaint with the then Kerala DGP Lokanath Behera, seeking a thorough probe in to the incident.

“Pulsar Suni and his jail inmates conspired against me in this case. I had passed the recorded phone conversation over to the DGP on April 20 itself. That was a clear case of blackmailing,” Dileep said while talking to news channels.

“No other actor in the industry should face these kinds of experiences. That’s the reason I filed the case. Let the police investigate the role of those in film field in the case,” he added.

Nadirsha had said that Vishnu said major names in the Malayalam film industry including actors, actresses, directors and producers are behind the blackmailing.

Additional Director General of Police B.Sandhya, who leads the probe into the actress’ assault case, had recorded a new statement of the victim on Thursday.

The police took the step after the prime accused Pulsar Suni reportedly discussed the case with his fellow jail inmate, and as the latter disclosed this to police, who, after looking into all aspects, decided to take a fresh statement from the actress.

Police are likely to take the jail inmate to record his statement in front of a magistrate.

Police, who arrested all the six accused within a week of the incident in February, failed to unravel if there was any conspiracy behind the kidnap of the actress and the fresh revelation is understood to have given new leads to the conspiracy angle.

With the actress all set to leave for a foreign trip, police after coming to know of her trip, decided to first take her statement.

The hugely popular young actress was sought to be kidnapped on February 17 while she was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi by road but later dumped near the house of director-turned-actor Lal, who upon hearing her harrowing experience, informed police.