Dubai: Popular Malayalam actor Dileep was arrested while his close friend-producer Nadirshah was being questioned in Kerala on Monday evening, with the Kerala police claiming that they have received conclusive proof linking them to the actress abduction case.

The Meesa Madhavan actor has been booked for conspiracy behind the case involving their colleague who was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving car on February 18.

According to reports in Malayalam news channels, the police in Kerala have concrete proof linking the two to the crime and is likely to make more arrests soon.

Dileep was taken into custody on Monday morning and his arrest was recorded by evening. Nadirshah was still being questioned.


Two weeks ago, Dileep and Nadirshah were called in for a 13-hour interrogation following leads provided by the key accused Pulsar Suni, who was taken into custody, soon after the assault.

The alleged criminal had sent a letter addressed to them seeking financial aid and claimed that he hadn't revealed their names to the authorities. 

Several theories on their involvement — such as real-estate tussle between the actor and the abducted actress or settling old personal scores involving Dileep’s first wife Manju Warrier, have been floated and have rocked the Malayalam cinema world. 

Closely followed

While the actor has claimed that he is innocent in several interviews and that he has never met Pulsar Suni or his mates, the local media have been closely following the case.

The actor took to Facebook soon after the assault, claiming that the media was cooking up stories in a bid to tarnish his name and reputation.

“This was an incident which we never thought would happen in the Malayalam film industry. Over the last few days, AMMA (actors’ association) and the industry as a whole had condemned the assault on our colleague.

"But, many digital media organisations and few newspapers have been targeting me over the incident. They have cooked up stories revolving around me, with or without taking my name,” said Dileep in his post.

The actor also claimed that he had never met the prime accused, Suni.

However, a selfie featuring the actor with Suni in the background was also unearthed, making everyone question the veracity of his claims.

As a part of the probe, the police also conducted raids on Dileep’s wife Kavya Madhavan’s boutique.

Telephone calls made by Pulsar Suni from prison to Dileep's manager Appunni have also been traced, incriminating the actor and tying him to the abduction case.

While the details are murky, Dileep's close friend Nadirshah is also believed to have made an eight-minute call to Suni.

This case has captured the public's imagination in Kerala and over the last few weeks, the probe has been scrutinised by the local media.