Achalpur (Amravati): The police custody of Amravati sex scandal key accused Ayaan Ahmed and three others was extended till April 27 on Tuesday by Achalpur district sessions court, which rapped the cops for the slow pace of probe.The accused were produced under heavy security that for the first time saw deployment of drones over the court and its vicinity, providing an extra layer of surveillance to the multi-layered security on the ground that included local cops, a platoon of riot control police and members of SIT.The route through which the accused were brought to court was barricaded at crucial junctions and traffic diverted during convoy movement. Apart from Ayaan, the three other accused produced in court were Uzer Khan, Mohammad Saad and Tabrez Khan.Public prosecutor Dhanraj Navale argued that custodial interrogation of accused was not complete, mobile phones of accused required advanced forensic analysis and social media uploading of obscene content needed technical analysis. Financial transactions of the accused also need to be scrutinised to trace money trail, he added.He also flagged the source of funds behind Ayaan’s possession of a luxury SUV and a weapon allegedly found in the vehicle. Defence counsel Waqar Ahmad, appearing for Ayaan, opposed the remand plea. He argued police were already granted seven-day custody, but failed to recover substantial evidence. Data recovery exercise in Amravati and Nagpur yielded no incriminating material, he said, terming the grounds for fresh custody repetitive and legally unsustainable. He also submitted that the alleged weapon found in the SUV was not a firearm, but an air gun used for agricultural purpose.The court, while directing police to present concrete evidence at the next hearing, granted remand given the seriousness of the allegations in the matter.On the digital evidence front, apart from five mobile phones seized, six more phones, a laptop, one tablet and a hard disk have been sent to the forensic laboratory for analysis. Of the devices already examined, 18 videos and 39 photographs involving eight survivors were found. Police again appealed to survivors’ families to come forward without fear, assuring confidentiality with legal precautions to protect their identity.
