Bengaluru: We were not in SUV, Vishnu's 3 pals tell cops
Soon after the notice was issued, Pranam, Adi and Faizal appeared before the IO and recorded their statements.
Bengaluru: The Jayanagar police have issued summons to six people, including the son of veteran sandalwood star Devaraj and brother of absconding accused Geetha Vishnu, the grandson of liquor baron the late D.K. Adikesavulu, in South End Circle accident involving Vishnu’s Mercedes Benz G-Class SUV on the night of September 27.
The police, who had seized the car after it rammed a Maruti Omni, injuring six of its occupants, had found 110 gm of marijuana in the SUV, following which Vishnu was arrested. Vishnu, who was undergoing treatment at Mallya Hospital for minor injuries, escaped from the hospital on Friday morning while in police custody.
On Monday, the police issued notices to Pranam Devaraj, son of veteran Sandalwood star Devaraj, Vishnu’s brother Adi Narayan, realtor's son Faizal, Shashank and two others and asked them to appear before the investigation officer (IO) in three days.
Soon after the notice was issued, Pranam, Adi and Faizal appeared before the IO and recorded their statements. “We were not sure if these six people were in the SUV when the incident happened, but were with Vishnu at a party. We had summoned them to record their statements. All the three men have denied their presence in the SUV and have maintained that they attended the party along with Vishnu and left the place in their vehicles,” DCP (South) Dr S.D. Sharanappa said.
After the incident, eyewitnesses claimed that two sandalwood stars Diganth and Prajwal Devaraj were in the SUV at the time of the accident and fled the spot when the public started to gather. However, the two actors in separate videos have clarified that they were out of town at the time of incident and that they were not even remotely connected to it.
Police yet to trace absconder
The police who have formed four teams to arrest the absconding accused Geetha Vishnu are yet to trace him. The search operation has been intensified and the teams are looking for the accused in the neighbouring states as well. The police on Sunday had arrested Vishnu’s brother-in-law Rajesh Naidu for helping him escape from the hospital and arranging a car for him.
BBMP lodges plaint against Vishnu
A BBMP engineer has lodged a complaint against Geetha Vishnu, the grandson of liquor baron D.K. Adikesavulu, for causing damage to the BBMP property.
In his complaint lodged at the Jayanagar traffic police station on Monday, the BBMP executive engineer (Banashankari sub-division) has said that the accident involving Vishnu’s SUV has damaged BBMP property at the South End Circle. He said that the damage was of Rs 5 lakh and if the accused did not compensate it, the BBMP will take legal action against the accused.