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

AT one point, the parents of musician Balabhaskar alleged that 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 that 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 from various angles but were unable to find any evidence linking Balabhaskar with the gang, or its connection to his death.

The CBI further stated that 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 in the accident when their car rammed a tree in Pallippuram, on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, in the early hours of September 25.