Crime Branch considers legal options after Kerala High Court rejects actor Siddique’s anticipatory bail plea

Actor Siddique (File) | Photo credit: PTI

A top-level meeting at the State Crime Branch (CB) headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday (September 24, 2024) is said to have considered prosecutorial options before the investigators after the Kerala High Court rejected actor Siddique’s anticipatory bail plea in the alleged rape case. of an aspiring actor in a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016.

So far, the police have reportedly not restricted Mr. Siddique’s movements or issued a wanted-person notice against him.

Despite feverish conventional and social media speculation, there is no official word about an ongoing statewide drive for the actor’s custody.

A senior official said that at the current juncture “there is no call for quick arrests”. He said issuing a notice to the actor was a “possibility”. DYSP, District Crime Branch, Thiruvananthapuram, was the investigating officer in the case.

The agency also examined whether the immediate arrest of Mr. Siddiqui would yield the actor’s move to seek anticipatory bail from the Supreme Court, thus exposing the police to allegations of over-haste and overzealousness in pursuing the suspect.

Meanwhile, police and media have set up a presence in front of Mr Siddiqui’s two houses in Ernakulam district. Television channels also made a beeline for a hotel in Nedumbassery following unconfirmed reports that Mr Siddique had checked in there.

A team from the Museum Police Station in Thiruvananthapuram was reported en route to Kochi. However, the team’s mission remains unclear for now.

According to officials, Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch, H. The meeting chaired by Venkatesh contemplated issuing a notice to Mr. Siddiqui to appear before the Investigating Officer, District Crime Branch, DYSP, Thiruvananthapuram in the case.

According to some reports, the crime branch seems to be facing a legal dilemma.

The High Court’s observation that Mr. Siddiqui’s custodial interrogation was essential to the investigation appears to have limited the agency’s legal options.

Furthermore, the court did not rule out the possibility that the actor might try to influence critical witnesses in the case.

The government is under pressure to take action

The Kerala government appeared to be under pressure to take demonstrative action in Mr. Siddique’s case after the High Court insisted on the need for custodial interrogation and medical examination of the actor due to the serious nature of the case.

High Court 2019 K. It is the second time the government has faulted the government for maintaining a “mysterious sphinx-like silence” for five years on the Hema committee report that documented rampant sexual exploitation and abuse in the Malayalam film industry. The court said the report would not have seen the light of day if it had not intervened.

A senior police officer portrayed the High Court’s rejection of Mr. Siddiq’s anticipatory bail plea as proof of the agency’s “professional and outside influence-free” investigation into the rape case.

The agency appears to have produced evidence in the case that dates back nearly eight years, fixing dates, locations and records, including hotel records and witness statements involving the survivor’s disclosure of the alleged rape. Create a timeline and circumstantial evidence for effective prosecution.

Police have recorded the statements of at least two psychiatrists who treated the survivor. They reportedly testified about the victim’s alleged trauma months and years after the alleged crime.

The Crime Branch feels that there is reasonable evidence to legally confront Mr. Siddiqui.