Disagreement over the venue continued to plague the interrogation of Kavya Madhavan as a witness by the Crime Branch (CB) in the actor assault case.
The interrogation scheduled at Dileep’s house at Aluva did not go through as planned on Wednesday. The CB had originally issued her notice to appear for interrogation at the Aluva Police Club, but was forced into making a change of location after Kavya insisted on being questioned in the familiar environs of her husband’s house.
Her lawyers reportedly took refuge in Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, according to which women, children and elderly persons roped in as witnesses should be questioned at their residence.
However, the investigation team found it problematic at many levels, not the least because of the fact that Dileep, eighth accused in the case, lives in the same house. Logistical issues were also cited as audio-video clips and statements of witnesses would have to be used during the interrogation for which separate arrangements would have to be made.
The CB will decide the future course of action based on legal advice. The questioning of Kavya had met with one hurdle after another from the outset. She was initially asked to appear for questioning on Monday but it was postponed to Wednesday after she cited inconvenience.
The CB had taken the statement of actor and former wife of Dileep, Manju Warrier, another witness, at a private hotel in Kochi last week.
Dileep’s brother Anoop and brother-in-law Suraj, who were also directed to appear for interrogation on Wednesday, did not turn up either. They have reportedly asked for postponement of the questioning.
