Kerala Police in Supreme Court seek custodial interrogation of actor Siddique

The Kerala Police have filed a report in the Supreme Court, urging custodial interrogation of Malayalam actor Siddique in a sexual assault case, saying it was ‘essential to expose his lie of righteousness before he goes down in history as a hero’

The Kerala Police have filed a report in the Supreme Court, urging custodial interrogation of Malayalam actor Siddique in a sexual assault case, saying it was “essential to expose his lie of righteousness before he goes down in history as a hero”.

The State Police said there was a “stockpile of evidence” against Mr. Siddique, who was granted anticipatory bail by the top court in September.

Opposing regular bail to Mr. Siddique, the police, represented by advocate Nishe Rajen Shonker, said any grant of leeway to the actor would be a blow to the policy of zero tolerance towards crimes against women and children.

“The petitioner’s influence, the risk to the integrity of the investigation, and the broader public interest in cases involving crimes against women are strong grounds for opposing bail,” the report filed through Ajichandran Nair, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Narcotic Cell, Thiruvananthapuram City, submitted.

The police said Siddique had a lookout notice issued against him on September 25.

“The petitioner (Siddique) absconded. He re-surfaced only after a week once the Supreme Court granted interim protection. All this highlights the unwillingness of the accused to cooperate with the investigating agency, and also bide time to destroy evidence and turn circumstances in his favour,” the report filed on October 19 said.

Mr. Siddique’s “willingness’ to cooperate with the investigation is limited to appearing before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) after the interim protection was granted by the Supreme Court.