Malayalam actor Dileep acquitted in 2017 actress assault case
After a prolonged investigation and multiple chargesheets, the sessions court finds dileep not guilty in the high-profile abduction and assault case
A Kerala court on Monday (December 8) acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep in a case relating to the sexual assault of a South Indian actress in Kochi in 2017.
The court, however, found six others, including prime accused Sunil N S alias Pulsar Suni, who directly committed the crime, guilty. Apart from Dileep, the court also acquitted three other persons in the case. The court said that there is no evidence against Dillep.
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The verdict was pronounced by Ernakulam Principal Sessions Judge Honey M Varghese, who had concluded the hearing in the lengthy trial on November 25.
Speaking immediately after the verdict Dileep, who was present in court, said, "This was a conspiracy against me. I thank all the lawyers and everybody else who helped me…"
"Yes, there was a conspiracy. The conspiracy was against me. It started when Manju Warrier spoke about a conspiracy behind the crime. Some police officers, led by a senior woman officer who was at the helm then, along with a section of the media, hunted me with false stories for almost nine years. Their false narrative has now been shattered in court," he added.
Case that shook Kerala
The assault on the actress, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, after her car was abducted for two hours, had shaken the conscience of Kerala society.
According to the prosecution, several persons forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area.
The 10 accused who faced trial are Sunil NS alias Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijesh V P, Salim H, Pradeep, Charly Thomas, actor Dileep (real name P Gopalakrishnan), Sanil Kumar alias Mesthri Sanil, and Sharath.
Police arrested the accused soon after the incident and filed the first chargesheet against seven persons in April 2017. They were charged under sections 120A (conspiracy), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 109 (abetment of offence), 366 (kidnapping or abducting a woman), 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with an intent to outrage her modesty), 354B (use of criminal force to disrobe a woman), 357 (use of criminal force to wrongfully confine a person), 376D (gang rape), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 212 (harbouring an offender) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code.
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During further investigation, Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017 after the probe team found that the prime accused, Suni, had allegedly sent a letter to him from jail. The actor was granted bail on October 3, 2017. In November 2017, police filed a supplementary chargesheet against seven more persons, including Dileep. Five of them were later discharged or turned approvers.