A Kerala court on Monday acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep in the 2017 actor assault case, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove his involvement in the alleged criminal conspiracy.
However, the Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Judge Honey M Varghese found six other accused guilty of various charges, including criminal conspiracy, wrongful confinement, assault to outrage modesty, abduction, attempt to disrobe, and gang rape. The verdict was pronounced at 11 am.
Following the verdict, actor Dileep thanked his supporters over the last nine years. He alleged that the case against him originated from a "criminal conspiracy" first brought up by his former wife, actor Manju Warrier. Dileep claimed that a senior police officer and their team later "implemented" this conspiracy. He accused them of fabricating a false narrative using the prime accused and his associates, and then leveraging the media and social platforms to propagate it. He stated this alleged attempt was aimed at destroying his image and life but ultimately failed in court.
"They [the police] got together with the prime accused [Pulsar Suni] and his jail mates to concoct a fake story against me. They got together with some media and spread this fake story on social media. But the fake story fell apart in court. The real conspiracy was against me. In these nearly nine years, my image in society and my life itself was ruined," he said.
The case centers on the abduction and alleged sexual assault of a prominent Malayalam actor inside her car in Kochi on February 17, 2017, which lasted for nearly two hours.
First, the trial involved ten accused, namely Pulsar Suni (prime accused), Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijesh VP, Salim H, Pradeep, Charly Thomas, Sanil Kumar alias Mesthri Sanil, and Sharath. All faced multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), such as criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, sexual assault, gang rape, and common intention, along with provisions of the Information Technology Act.
Dileep, who was accused number 8, was also charged with destroying evidence.
Police filed the first chargesheet in April 2017. Dileep was arrested in July 2017 after investigators alleged that Pulsar Suni had sent him a letter from jail. He was granted bail in October 2017. A supplementary chargesheet followed later that year. In 2018, Dileep sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, citing bias by the Kerala Police. This plea was dismissed.
The trial involved the examination of 261 witnesses, including several film industry figures, many of whom turned hostile. The investigation officer was examined for 109 days. The court admitted 834 documents and examined two defence witnesses. Two key witnesses, former MLA PT Thomas and director Balachandra Kumar, died during the trial.
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