The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, refused to stay the probe against actor Dileep for allegedly conspiring to kill the police officers who investigated their role in the 2017 Female actor abduction and assault case, Onmanorama reported.
On January 9, the Kerala crime branch had filed an FIR against Dileep and his associates in the conspiracy to murder case. The FIR was filed based on allegations raised by filmmaker Balachandra Kumar. Dileep then moved the High Court seeking to quash the case or transfer the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Appearing for Dileep, lawyers B Raman Pillai, Philip T Varghese and Thomas T Varghese sought to stay the probe until the court makes a decision on his plea seeking to quash the FIR or transfer the investigation to the CBI. However, Justice K Haripal noted that the investigation in the case cannot be halted.
The court, while observing that the matter requires a detailed hearing, said that it can be taken up after the High Court’s summer vacation from April 11 to May 17. However, the actor’s counsel sought an earlier date for hearing, noting that there was an urgency. The court approved the request and listed the matter for final hearing on March 28.
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According to a recent forensic report by the Kerala police, Dileep allegedly tampered with the mobile phones submitted as evidence to the Kerala High Court registry. In a statement to the High Court, Dileep called the crime branch’s false and fabricated.
As part of the investigation, the HC had directed the accused to submit their mobile phones on January 29. According to the forensic report, four phones were either formatted or had the data in them deleted at Labindia Private Limited in Mumbai on January 29 and 30.
In his statement, Dileep has contended that it is ‘not illegal for the users to extract, restore or delete data from their phones’. Regarding the deletion of 12 WhatsApp messages from his phone, he said that it is a regular practice among users of the messaging platform.
For a full timeline of the female actor abduction and assault case, see here.