Kochi: Actor Dileep failed to submit to the High Court a high-end cellphone which was deemed critical to the investigation into the case pertaining to the conspiracy to eliminate cops who investigated another one over the 2017 sexual assault of an actress. However, Dileep and other accused in the conspiracy case submitted other mobile phones to the Registrar General of Kerala High
Court on Monday as per the directions of the court.
The prosecution had demanded the production of Dileep's four phones, including two iPhones. In the list given by the prosecution, it had made it clear that the elusive phone belonged to Dileep.
The fourth phone mentioned in the list is not in his possession and the same information was conveyed to the court by Dileep recently. Only the IMIE number (356723080949446) of this phone was mentioned in the list. In his explanation given to the court on Monday Dileep stated that he was not aware of this phone.
"The phone is not in his possession and he has not used it in the recent past. One of the iPhones he was using earlier had stopped working," Dileep's counsel told the court.
During the questioning Dileep too had informed the investigating officers that this particular phone was not in his possession.
"This could be the phone that the prosecution is referring to. Otherwise, it could be the phone that the Crime Branch officials had taken away during the raid carried out in his house on January 1," Dileep's lawyer explained.
As reported earlier the Crime Branch special team has intensified its drive to find out this phone. They have sought the help of Cyberdome for the same. The inquiry team's assessment is that this particular phone which Dileep is trying to conceal contains crucial evidence relevant to the case. The Crime Branch suspects that the mobile phone could have been destroyed by the accused.
The investigation team has found that after director Balachandrakumar came out in public with allegations, these two phones became active. This was found while examining the Call Detail Records (CDR) of these phones.
However, the SIM cards of these phones were put in two other phones and kept in Dileep’s house. These phones were taken into custody by the investigating officials during the raid conducted at the actor’s house.
The High Court had on Saturday had asked Dileep and other accused to produce before the Registrar General their mobile phones on a plea by the Crime Branch. Justice Gopinath P had asked the accused to hand over the phones in a sealed box by 10.15 am on January 31.
