Balabhaskar's death and aides' gold smuggling have no link, High Court told

Balabhaskar's death and aides' gold smuggling have no link, High Court told
Balabhaskar

Kochi: Popular musician Balabhaskar's death in a car accident last year has been intriguing both cops and public in Kerala alike especially after it came to light that a few of his aides were involved in gold smuggling and jewellery was found in that vehicle. The Crime Branch which took over the probe has now stated that no proof linking the death of deceased violinist to smuggling racket has been found, though the probe is still underway.

There is no evidence to prove that the gold smuggling case has any links to the death of violinist Balabhaskar, the Crime Branch has told the Kerala High Court.

The court had inquired whether the death of Balabhaskar and the gold smuggling case had any links.

A scientific examination of the evidence and investigation into the death are progressing, it said. It is not yet clear who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident, it said.

To ascertain who was driving the vehicle, hair and blood samples collected from the front seat have been sent for forensic examination, the government pleader told the court on behalf of the Crime Branch.

The Crime Branch made the submission when bail applications of the accused in the gold smuggling case -- advocate M Biju, Sereena Shaji, Sunil Kumar and P K Rashid -- came up for hearing before Justice B Sudheendhra Kumar.

The Crime Branch told the court that it is yet to get information from the state Crime Records Bureau whether the other accused in the gold smuggling case -- Arjun K Narayanan, Prakshan Thambi, Vishnu Somasundaram and Jishnu -- have any criminal background.

Besides, the Crime Branch is also yet to know if Vishnu and Thambi had managed the properties of Balabhaskar.

Vishnu is yet to be questioned.

The investigation team has sought the help of the weather department to assess the weather at the time of the accident. National Highway authorities have been contacted to check the condition of the road. The KSEB has been approached to know if there were streetlights at the spot. The village officer has been contacted to obtain information regarding the place where the accident took place.

It has also approached the Reserve Bank to obtain information about the bank accounts of Balabhaskar, Thambi, Vishnu, Arjun, Dr Ravidranath and Latha. The documents related to their properties have to be obtained from the registration department.

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