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

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

A top-level meeting at the State Crime Branch (CB) headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday (September 24, 2024) reportedly weighed the prosecutorial options before investigators after the Kerala High Court rejected actor Siddique’s anticipatory bail plea in the case relating to the alleged rape of an aspiring actor at 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 media and social media speculations, there has been no official word about an ongoing Statewide operation for the actor’s custody.

A senior official said that “speedy arrest was not called for on the same” at the current juncture. He said issuing a notice to the actor was a “possibility.” The DYSP, District Crime Branch, Thiruvananthapuram, is the investigating officer in the case.

The agency also reportedly examined whether Mr. Siddique’s immediate arrest would render the actor’s move to obtain anticipatory bail from the Supreme Court infructuous, thus exposing the police to accusations of overhastiness and zealousness in pursuing the suspect.

Meanwhile, the police and the media have established a presence in front of Mr. Siddique’s two houses in Ernakulam district. Television channels also made a beeline for a hotel at 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 remained unclear for now.

According to officials, the meeting chaired by Additional Director General of Police, Crime Branch, H. Venkatesh, reportedly contemplated issuing a notice to Mr. Siddique to appear before the investigating officer in the case.

By some accounts, the Crime Branch appeared to be facing a legal dilemma.

The High Court’s observation that Mr. Siddique’s custodial interrogation was essential for investigation has seemingly limited the agency’s legal options.

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

Govt under pressure to take action

The Kerala government seemed under pressure to take demonstrative action in Mr. Siddique’s case after the High Court stressed the need for the actor’s custodial interrogation and medical examination, given the grave nature of the case. 

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

A senior police official portrayed the High Court’s rejection of Mr. Siddique’s anticipatory bail plea as a testament to the agency’s “professional and extraneous influence-free” investigation in the rape case.

The agency appeared to have built evidence in the nearly eight years behind-the-time case by getting a fix on dates, locations and records, including hotel records and statements of witnesses privy to the outpourings of the survivor in the alleged rape’s aftermath, to build a timeline and circumstantial evidence for effective prosecution. 

The police had also recorded the statements of at least two psychiatrists who treated the survivor. They reportedly testified to the victim’s alleged trauma in the months and years after the suspected offence. 

The Crime Branch reckoned that it had reasonable evidence to legally confront Mr. Siddique.

Published - September 24, 2024 04:43 pm IST