Thiruvananthapuram: The crime branch has launched a probe into the role of Prakashan Thambi in the death of musician Balabhaskar and his daughter in a road accident. Thambi is now under arrest in a gold smuggling case.
An investigation will also be conducted into the revelations made by Kalabhavan Soby against Thambi and the financial dealings of the latter. Meanwhile, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) will record the statement of Balabhaskar’s father in the backdrop of the latest developments.
At the same time, Balabhaskar's wife Lakshmi said that the truth should come out through the police investigation. She said that some statements attributed to her to the effect that she did not know Thambi were false.
The Crime Branch is examining whether murky financial issues were behind Balabhaskar's death. The musician’s relatives raised suspicions over his death after Prakashan Thambi, who was the programme coordinator of Balabhaskar’s troupe, was arrested by the DRI in the gold smuggling case related to Thiruvananthapuram airport.
Vishnu Somasundaram, another accused in the gold smuggling case who is on the run, was handling Balabhaskar's financial affairs. When Balabhaskar's father filed a complaint raising suspicion over his son's death, he had pointed fingers at Thambi and Vishnu. As the criminal background of these two persons became evident, the crime branch decided to seek the custody of Thambi and interrogate him.
The Crime Branch will also verify Soby’s statements. He had claimed to have passed along the accident site and had reportedly contacted Thambi over the matter. However, Thambi had reacted coldly, said Soby.
Priya Venugopal, a relative of Balabhaskar, has said in a Facebook post that Lakshmi was earlier under the protection of those accused of gold smuggling now. Priya blamed Lakshmi for coming out with a statement that she had no close links with Thambi and Vishnu. Lakshmi reacted saying that no comment had been made by her along these lines.
Balabhaskar's car had rammed into a tree near Kazhakoottam and he succumbed to injuries on October 2 last year. The DRI, however, presumes that no gold smuggling was carried out when Balabhaskar was alive.
