Police defer interrogation of Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko in 'drug case'

Kochi | Despite issuing a notice, the police have decided not to interrogate Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko on Monday in connection with an alleged drug use case.

He was arrested and later released on bail on Saturday.

A senior police officer said on Sunday that although a notice had initially been served directing him to appear before the investigation team on April 21, the actor was later informed that his presence was not required at this stage of the probe.

Kochi City Police Commissioner Putta Vimaladitya has scheduled a meeting with Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) on Monday to review the investigation.

A decision on further interrogation will be made after the meeting, police added.

Chacko was arrested following a nearly four-hour-long interrogation related to an incident in which he allegedly fled from a Kochi hotel during a narcotics raid.

He was booked under Section 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Sections 27 (drug consumption) and 29 (abetment and criminal conspiracy) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, police added.

Chacko has been named the first accused in the FIR, with Malappuram native Ahmed Murshad listed as the second accused, police said.

According to the FIR, a District Anti-Narcotic Special Action Force (DANSAF) team found the two using drugs and engaging in a criminal conspiracy in Room No. 314 of a hotel near Kaloor on Wednesday night.

Upon noticing the police, Chacko allegedly fled through a window in an attempt to destroy evidence.

During questioning, he reportedly admitted to drug use, the FIR stated.

Police said he escaped by jumping onto a sheet covering the second floor and using the staircase to exit the building.

Chacko had appeared at the Ernakulam North Police Station for questioning on Saturday in response to a formal notice.

The Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court had recently acquitted Chacko in a 2015 drug case, citing procedural lapses during the police seizure and arrest.