Suspicion over the death of late Balabhaskar being an engineered accident increased after police found that the car in which the violinist and family was travelling was at 100kmph before the “accident”.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Police have found that Balabhaskar's car was travelling at around 100kmph just before the alleged accident that took the life of the violinist and his daughter. The car was caught on a speed camera around 1:08 am at Chalakudy in Thrissur, Kerala. This indicates that the driver was speeding. It raised questions over the reason for the driver of the vehicle to travel at such a high speed while travelling with the family.
Meanwhile, after months of investigation, officials concluded that it was indeed Arjun, the driver, who was driving the car from Thrissur, and not Balabhaskar. Arjun had told Kerala Police that Balabhaskar drove the car on the day of the incident. Later, Balabhaskar's wife Lakshmi had told police that it was Arjun who had been driving while the accident occurred, and that Balabhaskar was seated in the back seat of the vehicle. Lakshmi further said that she and her daughter were sitting in the front seat with Arjun.
The Crime Branch has decided to inspect CCTV footage from the shop where Balabhaskhar and family had stopped to fetch juice.
However, Shamnad, the owner of a juice shop where the passengers, came forward with a crucial piece of information. He revealed that Prakashan Thampy, a friend of Balabhaskar, took the hard drive containing CCTV footage from the camera installed in his shop. Shamnad said that he later returned it.
The case of Balabhaskhar’s death intensified as Prakashan Thampy, one of his former programme coordinators, was arrested in a gold smuggling case.
The hard drive was later produced in court by Crime Branch DySP K Harish. In the wake of the new revelation, the hard drive was sent for digital forensic examination to determine whether the data in the drive was manipulated.
Strangely though, the owner of the juice shop later withdrew his statement. He told media that he doesn’t know Prakashan Thampy and nobody had taken the hard drive. He also stated that he had not given any statement to Crime Branch officials.
At the same time, Thampy has reportedly told Crime Branch officials that he had taken the copy of hard drive to check who drove the car.
Crime Branch officials intended to question Arjun as part of the investigation on Friday (June 7). However, the officials received information that Arjun was in Assam.
Furthermore, a friend of Balabhaskar, Raveendranath, who is a doctor had called Balabhaskar on his phone shortly after the alleged accident. The violinist’s father expressed doubts over the doctor’s involvement in the incident as Raveendranath’s son is absconding.
Balabhaskar and his family met with an accident at Pallipuram near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, in the early hours of September 25. While Balabhaskar and his wife, Lakshmi were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, their 2-year-old daughter, Tejasvini, unfortunately, died on the spot. Balabhaskar died at the hospital on October 2.
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