COIMBATORE: The Nilgiris district court has sought a written submission from the prosecution explaining the delay in receiving forensic examination reports from the National Forensic Science Laboratory on data collected from mobile phones and cell towers in the Kodanad heist-cum-murder case in 2017.

When the case came up for hearing on Friday, District Sessions Judge N Muralidharan sought an update on the data retrieved from 19 mobile phones and records from 61 mobile phone towers linked to the case.

The judge questioned why the National Forensic Science Laboratory had not yet furnished its findings and directed the prosecution to submit a written explanation at the next hearing. The court also advised the State government to appoint a special public prosecutor to conduct the case.

Two of the accused, Sayan and Udayakumar, appeared before the court. The hearing was subsequently adjourned to September 16.

The case relates to the break-in at the Kodanad estate bungalow in the Nilgiris on April 23, 2017, following the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The bungalow was reportedly targeted for valuables and documents, and a security guard was killed during the incident.

Ten people have been arrested and charged in connection with the case. C Kanagaraj, a native of Salem who had worked as Jayalalithaa’s car driver and one of the key accused, died in a road accident in Salem days after the Kodanad incident.