CBI rules out musician Balabhaskar's connection with gold smuggling ring

AT one point, the parents of musician Balabhaskar alleged a gold smuggling gang was involved in the suspicious death of their son in a car accident in September 2018.

- P RAMDAS @Kochi

The CBI's further investigation, however, has revealed the smuggling by Balabhaskar's friends - Prakash Thampi and Vishnu Somasundaram - occurred between October of 2018 and May 2019, after his death.

Both the CBI and the DRI investigated the smuggling case but were unable to find any proof linking Balabhaskar with the gang, or its connection to his death.

The CBI also said it did not find anything suspicious in Prakash holding on to Balabhaskar's mobile phone after the accident.

"The gold-smuggling activities occurred after the death of Balabhaskar," the CBI report says.

The violinist and his daughter died when their car rammed a tree in Pallippuram on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram in the early hours of September 25.