Kochi: A mobile phone used by a set of goons to videotape their sexual assault on a Malayalam actress might have been flown out of the country. The police are desperately searching for the crucial piece of evidence to nail the accused including Dileep but the actor is believed to have sent it abroad with the help of a friend two weeks ago, sources said.
Dileep, who was arrested last Monday for plotting the attack on the actress, had apparently asked the goons he hired to videotape the attack. He wanted the thugs to hand over the clip before he paid them Rs 1.5 crore as promised, the police said.
Sunil Kumar aka ‘Pulsar’ Suni, who led the attack, initially told the police that he had dumped the phone into the Kochi Lake. He later said he had handed over the mobile phone to his advocate, Pratheesh Chacko. The advocate denied the claim and sought an anticipatory bail before going incommunicado. The police interrogated Chacko’s junior in the Aluva police club on Sunday.
The police have followed every trail to the phone that has remained elusive until now. The cops, however, have obtained a copy of the clip. A cybercell team is constantly on the watch to trace any attempt to upload the clip on YouTube or any other video-sharing websites.
Dileep has been stonewalling questions about the phone and its contents. The actor’s counsel is likely to move a bail plea before the Kerala High Court on Monday. A magistrate’s court at Angamaly had rejected his bail plea on Saturday.
Dileep has been advised to secure a bail before his aide Sunil Raj aka Appunni lands in police custody. The police believe that Appunni was a key link between Dileep and Suni and he had even tried to hand over money to the criminal.
Appunni had carried four mobile phones and five SIM cards. One of those phones is key to prove the conspiracy angle in the case as it was used by Dileep. That may be the reason for Appunni to stay clear of the police team.
The police have alerted all airports to bar him from leaving the country. A lookout notice may be issued soon in his name.
Meanwhile, the court recorded the statements of two employees of a hotel where Dileep stayed during the shooting of 'Georgettan's Pooram'.
Read more: Latest Kerala news | Actress attack case: lawyer lands in police custody