Mystery over Kerala fusion musician's death deepens

Eight months after the tragic death of a noted fusion musician of Kerala and his daughter in a road accident, mystery shrouds as two of his close aides' links with an international gold smuggling racket surfaced.

Balabhaskar, known for his fusion music mainly with violin, and his two-year-old daughter Thejaswani Bala were killed and his wife Lakshmi and driver Arjun suffered serious injuries after the car in which they were travelling rammed into a tree on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram during the wee hours of September 25, 2018.

While prima facie it looked like an accidental death caused due to driver's drowsiness, Balabhaskar's father C K Unni has been raising suspicions right from the initial stages itself. He had also sought probe into the financial investments of his son.

Even as the police investigation was pointing towards the driver's drowsiness as the accident's cause, there were contradictory statements over whether Balabhaskar or Arjun drove the car.

The mystery over the musician's death got a fresh twist as his friends Vishnu S and Prakash Thampi, who used to manage the musician's programmes within the country and abroad, were arraigned by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in a gold smuggling case.

Prakash Thampi was already arrested, while Vishnu is still absconding in the case that involved customs officials, lawyers and a beautician.

The seizure of 25-kilogram gold at the Thiruvananthapuram airport from two persons, including the beautician, who were suspected to be carriers had led to busting the racket.

Adding to the mystery over Balabhaskar's death, an artist in Kerala, Kalabahavan Shobi, now revealed that he happened to pass by Balabhaskar's accident spot on that ill-fated hour of September 25, 2018, and noticed two persons in suspicious circumstances moving away from the spot. He also said that he had shared this with Prakash on that day itself.

The mystery further deepened on Sunday as Balabhaskar's wife Lakshmi clarified that she was unaware of a post in her name on Balabhaskar's social media page stating that Prakash Thampi was not Balabhaskar's manager.

Police sources said that they could not find any mystery behind the road accident.

But the chances of Balabhaskar's aides using him as a cover for smuggling, without his knowledge, while travelling for performances abroad could not be ruled out.

In the wake of the fresh developments, the police crime branch team would be seeking the custody of Prakash for interrogation in connection with Balabhaskar's death.