Conspiracy to kill cops: Kerala High Court grants Dileep relief from arrest

The Crime Branch, which is probing the case related to the conspiracy, had questioned Dileep and others for 33 hours spread over three days since last Sunday. While considering the anticipatory bail pleas of the accused, the High Court had allowed the Crime Branch to question the accused.

The court had prevented their arrest till January 27 and had told the prosecution to furnish a report in a sealed cover. Accordingly, the prosecution submitted the report Thursday.

The Crime Branch had served a notice to Dileep to submit a few gadgets, including a few mobile phones, which the investigating team could not recover from him. Dileep had informed the investigating official that he had handed over such gadgets for forensic examination through his advocate “so that the data in the gadgets are not be tampered with”.

Earlier this month, the Crime Branch had registered a case against Dileep and five others, including his brother Anoop and brother-in-law Sooraj, alleging that they had planned to kill the officers who had investigated the 2017 case of abduction and sexual assault of an actor.

An FIR in the alleged conspiracy case was registered based on information provided by Dileep’s estranged friend and film director Balachandrakumar, who said Dileep hatched the conspiracy on November 15, 2017. Dileep said that the conspiracy case was fabricated.

Quoting Balachandrakumar, the FIR in the alleged conspiracy case states: “…Pointing his fingers at the visuals of A V George (then Kochi city police commissioner), Dileep said you five officials are going to suffer…Sojan, Sudarasan, Sandhya, Baiju Poulose, then you. The hand of Sudarasan, who manhandled me, should be chopped off.”

According to the FIR, the conspiracy to target the police officers took place at Dileep’s house in Aluva in Ernakulam district a month after he was released on bail in the sexual assault case. Balachandrakumar, the FIR said, had directly witnessed the conspiracy being hatched.