Thiruvananthapuram: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will conduct inquiries at the accident spot on Thursday to collect evidence as part of its probe into the death of violinist Balabhaskar.
The investigating team will visit the spot with Kalabhavan Sobi, who has testified that he saw a car being smashed before the accident.
Balabhaskar and his daughter were killed, while his wife Lakshmi and driver Arjun were seriously injured after their car hit a tree at Pallippuram near Kazhakuttam early morning on September 5, 2018.
The police and later the Crime Branch said that the accident took place due to overspeeding. The CBI, which has taken over the investigation, is, however, looking at other possibilities in the wake of the statements made by Sobi. According to him, the accident was planned.
Sobi, who says he is an eyewitness, has said that late at night on September 4, 2018, while travelling from Kochi to Tirunelveli, he had stopped at a petrol pump near the accident site to rest. Meanwhile, a vehicle with six-seven passengers reached there under suspicious circumstances. Later, another car also reached the spot and it was smashed by the gang in the first vehicle.
Sobi claims the car belonged to Balabhaskar and that it was smashed after the violinist was attacked, said Sobi. He also said that he saw a person who looked like PS Sarith, an accused in the Trivandrum Airport gold smuggling case, at the accident site.
The CBI's probe on Thursday will be based on this statement. The investigating team will visit all the places mentioned by Sobi to assess if his statement is true. Sobi has also been asked to arrive at the accident site.
The CBI inquiry will be led by Thiruvananthapuram unit SP Nandakumaran Nair and DYSP Anandakrishnan.
