Superstar Dileep collects passport from court for travel to Dubai

Malayalam superstar Dileep, currently out on bail in a case involving alleged kidnapping and sexual assault of an actress in February, on Monday collected his passport from the Angamaly magistrate court for his travel to Dubai.

Accompanying Dileep on his Dubai trip is his actress wife Kavya Madhavan and his daughter from his earlier marriage to actress Manju Warrier.

Last week the Kerala High Court permitted Dileep to travel to Dubai and directed the trial court to hand over his passport for six days and gave him permission to be in Dubai for four days, so as to enable him to take part in the inauguration of -- Dhe Puttu -- a restaurant that he co-owns with friend and actor Nadir Shah.

The two have a hugely successful - Dhe Puttu - that has been functioning here for a few years.

The High Court gave the nod for his travel despite stiff opposition from the prosecution and the police on the grounds that Dileep, after coming out on bail, had been trying to influence crucial witnesses in the case -- a charge denied by the actor's counsel.

The High Court nod came one day before the police probe team filed the final charge sheet in the case naming Dileep as the eighth accused in the case.

The court granted him travel permission but asked him to furnish all the details of his whereabouts once in Dubai and directed that no attempts should be made to influence the case.

Miffed by the actor getting permission to travel abroad, the police probe team according to sources is working to see if they can garner enough evidence to nail the superstar by approaching the court to cancel his bail.

Dileep was arrested on July 10 after the police found evidence to link him to the conspiracy angle in the kidnap case.

After 85 days in jail, he got conditional bail and has been on a religious sojourn.

The abduction of the popular actress took place in February when she was on her way from Thrissur to Kochi.

She was forcibly driven around in her vehicle for about two hours and allegedly molested before being dumped near an actor-director's home.

The key accused -- Pulsar Suni and his accomplices involved in the actual abduction -- were arrested a week later.

--IANS

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