On Saturday, actor Dileep's bail plea which came up for consideration at the Angamaly Judicial First Class Magistrate Court was turned down. He was represented by advocate Ramkumar.
The court has denied Dileep bail because it was convinced that releasing him from police custody might lead to witnesses and even the victim getting influenced.
Advocate A Suresan, the Special Public Prosecutor in the case said, "We told the Angamaly court magistrate that he may try to influence witnesses."
"There is clear evidence against Dileep. If he is given bail, there is apprehension that even the victim will be affected," Suresan said.
Lawyers from the prosecution team also told the media that at a time when the police was on the lookout for Dileep's driver, Appunni, who is absconding, giving Dileep bail would jeopardise the case.
They further added that there was already a PR exercise unleased, especially on social media, to garner sympathy for Dileep. The prosecution said that this proves what a powerful person he is.
Dileep will remain in judicial custody. Though Dileep was taken to Aluva sub jail, he was brought back to the court for some time. Since two of his phones had been seized by the police, they wanted him to handover passwords so they could inspect the phones in his presence.
Dileep's lawyers told the court that though his mobile phones had been handed over to the police, they fear that the police would tamper with it. This is why the court allowed the phones to be inspected in Dileep's presence.
On Monday, Dileep was arrested in the Malayalam actor abduction and sexual assault case which shook Kerala in the month of February.
Although the prime accused, Pulsar Suni, was nabbed by the police within a few days, there was suspicion that the crime had a conspiracy behind it.
Even though the Malayalam film industry threw its weight behind Dileep, a powerful star, the police arrested him on Monday, claiming that they had "irrefutable evidence" of the actor's involvement in the attack against a prominent woman actor.