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

Kerala’s Crime Branch meeting weighs prosecutorial options after Kerala High Court rejects actor Siddique's bail plea in rape case.

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 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, was the case’s investigating officer.

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 over hastiness 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.