Kochi: Malayalam actor Dileep's mobile phones will be submitted to Registrar General of Kerala High Court on Monday as per the directions of the court, his lawyers said on Sunday.
The mobile phones of other accused in the conspiracy case will also be submitted in the court, they said.
Three phones of Dileep, two of his brother P Sivakumar (Anoop) and one used by brother-in-law T N Suraj will reach Kochi on Sunday evening from Mumbai, where those have been sent for forensic analysis by the actor.
The High Court on Saturday had asked Dileep and others to produce before the Registrar General their mobile phones on a plea by the Crime Branch in a case against him and five others for allegedly conspiring against officers probing the sexual assault of an actress in 2017.
Justice Gopinath P had asked the accused to hand over the phones in a sealed box by 10.15 am on January 31.
The probe agency had said that though it has ample power to seize the mobile phones that were concealed and removed by the accused, the Crime Branch "felt it appropriate" that the matter be brought to the notice of the High Court.
"It appears that the petitioners have purposefully removed their mobile phones and attempted to conceal and thereby destroy the evidence under the pretext of sending it to examination," the Crime Branch had told the court.
Dileep's counsel had argued that witch hunting was happening in the name of investigation and handing over the phones would amount to violation of his privacy.
Move on to track Dileep's fourth phone
Meanwhile, the Crime Branch special team has intensified its drive to find out the fourth phone of Dileep. They have sought the help of the Cyberdome. The inquiry team's assessment is that this particular phone which Dileep is trying to conceal contains much crucial evidence in the case.
When the police cross-checked the call data records (CDR) of certain phone calls it was found that Dileep was using four mobile phones. The police received a statement from a witness that Dileep's driver used to keep this fourth phone.
The police are mainly resting all its hopes on an inquiry based on the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of the mobile phone. In order to check the veracity of Dileep's affidavit, the best scientific method is to examine this IMEI number. The court will accept the arguments of the prosecution if it manages to produce the CDR and a witness statement, proving that Dileep had called someone using the SIM card in the mobile phone.
The Crime Branch found that Dileep, Anoop and Suraj had abandoned seven mobile phones after director Balachandrakumar's revelations against them. The inquiry team are of the firm view that the three accused started using new mobile phones since the old phones contained a slew of evidence related to the conspiracy case.
IMEI number
According to cyber crime investigation experts, maximum details about a mobile phone can be received through the IMEI number. Only the mobile companies can give the phone number of an old mobile phone to a new mobile phone after destroying the old phone existing in the same IMEI number. But there were cases reported in which the IMEI number of the suspected mobile phone was changed by installing the motherboard of a new phone with the help of an IT expert. But if caught, the IT expert will also become an accused on charge of destroying evidence.
Prosecution claims strong evidence
Meanwhile, the prosecution on Saturday submitted before the Kerala High Court that strong evidence against Dileep and other accused had been collected in connection with the case in which they are accused of hatching conspiracy to harm the police officers investigating the actress attack case.
Director General of Prosecution T A Shaji presented it one by one while the court was hearing the interim plea of the prosecution seeking production of mobile phones of the accused.
Shaji said that at first they received the information about a private conversation regarding conspiracy. The accused identified their voices during interrogation in connection with the audio conversation.
The second instance was the episode in which Dileep, Anoop and Suraj held discussions in a flat on MG Road. When Dileep and other accused passed through the Police Club in a vehicle, they reduced the speed of the vehicle and spoke about their conspiracy plan.
Later, in 2019, there occurred a confrontation between Aluva native and businessman Sarath and an NRI film producer. Many valuable inputs were gathered from their conversations. The police got the statement of Salim and staff Dasan regarding this episode. So, from the words, body language and various acts of the accused, it is clear that there occurred a conspiracy, the prosecution argued.
But the advocates of Dileep alleged that an attempt was deliberately made to create evidence against the accused.
"The complainant in the case is Crime Branch DySP. The inquiry officer is Crime Branch SP. The order for inquiry was issued by the Crime Branch ADGP. In such a situation, from where will the accused get justice? There exists only the statement of Balachandrakumar. The police's sole aim is to arrest the accused. We are at the mercy of the court and we will obey the court's directives," senior advocate B Raman Pillai said on behalf of Dileep and others.
Women's Commission plea
The State Women's Commission has urged the State Cultural Affairs Ministry to form an internal complaints committee at shooting locations and other film-related workplaces as part of ending atrocities of women in the cinema field. The Commission gave such a directive based on the demands put forward by "Women in Cinema Collective" and the representations received from various organisations.
The Commission also asked the Cultural Affairs Ministry to inform it about the follow-up action taken on the recommendations given by the Justice Hema Commission which studied in detail the issues faced by women in the Malayalam cinema field.
