'Why don't you just surrender them here?': HC to Actor Dileep
Jan 28, 2022
Kochi (Kerala) [India], January 28 : The Kerala High Court posted the application of prosecution seeking a direction to handover the mobile phones used by Malayalam actor Dileep and other accused in a case of allegedly threatening the investigation officials probing the 2017 Actress Assault Case to tomorrow.
The Court will hear the case at 11 am tomorrow.
The application seeking to hand over the phones used by the accused prior to the first week of January 2022 before the investigating officer was moved by Additional Public Prosecutor P Narayanan with Director General of Prosecution TA Shaji in the anticipatory bail plea filed by Dileep and others.
While hearing the case, Single Bench Judge Justice P Gopinath asked Dileep's counsel, "Why don't you just surrender them here? Don't you have faith in this court? When something is required for the investigation, how can this court ask you not to reveal that to the investigating agency just because it contains self-incriminating material?"
In the application, the prosecution has accused actor Dileep and others of attempting to destroy critical evidence. It also informed the Court that Dileep and other accused refused to hand over the mobile phones which were used by them. The prosecution further said, "The petitioners are demonstrably not co-operating with the investigation as directed by this Honourable Court in the order dated 22.01.2022, and for that reason alone the protection granted to the petitioners is liable to be revoked."
Crime Branch of Kerala Police registered the case against Dileep and five others on January 9 for allegedly threatening the investigating officials. Dileep is named as the first accused in the FIR. Anoop, who is Dileep's brother, and Suraj, Dileep's brother-in-law, are the second and third accused. Appu, Babu Chengamanad are the other accused. One more accused has not been identified yet.
Dileep is also the eighth accused in the Actress Assault Case for alleged conspiracy. The case pertains that an actress who worked in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu films and was allegedly abducted and molested inside her car by a group of men who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017.
