In Kerala, Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko was arrested by the Kochi City Police today in connection with a drug-related case. He was summoned to the Ernakulam North Police Station this morning, where he was questioned by law enforcement officers for more than three hours before his arrest was recorded. He has been charged under relevant sections of the NDPS Act and BNS.
He was later taken to the Ernakulam General Hospital for a medical examination, after which he was released on bail. Police also registered an FIR against another person in connection with the case.
Three days ago, the actor jumped off the third floor of a hotel building in the city into a swimming pool and escaped when police arrived in search of some drug peddlers. Police issued a summons at his residence in Thrissur, following which he reported to the Ernakulam North Police Station this morning.
Mr. Chacko had turned up at the station around 10 a.m. following a summons issued by the police to be questioned in connection with an incident in which he allegedly fled a hotel at Kaloor in Kochi during a raid by the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force (DANSAF) late on Wednesday night. Ahmmed Murshad, 25, of Malappuram, who had reportedly been with the actor in the hotel room on the day, was also booked.
They were booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act Sections 27 (b) (consumption of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance) and Section 29 (punishment for abetment and criminal conspiracy). The charges were bailable.
The First Information Report said that the accused had been staying in the hotel room either for using drugs or to conspire about it. Mr. Chacko was accused of fleeing the hotel with the intention of avoiding providing evidence to the DANSAF team.
Tests to assess addiction.
Shortly after the arrest, Mr. Chacko was taken to the Ernakulam General Hospital for medical examination. Samples of his blood, urine, hair, saliva, and nail clippings were collected at the hospital. They will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for assessing immediate and chronic drug addiction, hospital sources said.
Mr. Chacko was primarily summoned to be questioned on why he fled upon seeing the police team at the hotel. Reportedly, the actor claimed he was not aware that it was a police team but “mistook them for ruffians out to assault him.”
Reportedly, the police have collected his mobile call data record and WhatsApp chat details. A team of senior police officers, including Ernakulam Central Assistant Commissioner C. Jayakumar and Narcotics Cell Assistant Commissioner K.A. Abdul Salam, questioned the actor. The police have also collected CCTV footage of Mr. Chacko fleeing the hotel at Kaloor. Allegedly, he fled his room on the third floor by jumping onto the second floor through a window. He reportedly crossed the swimming area, took the stairs to the reception area, and fled riding pillion on a two-wheeler.
The DANSAF team reportedly reached the hotel after receiving a tip-off about a drug peddler. They came to know about Mr. Chacko’s presence in the hotel through the register and chose to knock on his door. The police, however, failed to recover any narcotic substances from the room despite a thorough search.
Acquitted earlier.
Mr. Chacko was recently acquitted in a drug case by the Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court, citing procedural lapses on the part of the police during the drug seizure and his arrest in 2015.
Mr. Chacko’s parents and brother had visited the police station and left before he was released on bail around 5.40 p.m.