Kochi: A Kerala court on Monday acquitted Malayalam actor-producer Dileep of all charges in the 2017 actor assault case, saying that the prosecution failed to prove criminal conspiracy in the case.
Dileep was the eighth accused in the case that took place 17 February, 2017.
Meanwhile, the first six accused were convicted of charges punishable under various sections including 340, 357, 366, 377 B, and 66A of the IT Act. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced 12 December. They will remain in custody till then.
The survivor, a prominent female South Indian actor, was abducted by a group of men, including the first accused, Pulsar Suni, when she was travelling by car from Thrissur to Kochi. The group raped her while Suni also captured this on a mobile phone, after which she was abandoned.
The police had found that Dileep maintained enmity towards the survivor, believing her to be responsible for the fallout of his first marriage. To retaliate, the actor allegedly conspired with Pulsar Suni to abduct the survivor and sexually abuse her, and blackmail her later using the video.
Dileep, the then treasurer of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), was one of the most popular actors at the time, with multiple other ventures, including restaurants, theatres, and a production house.
The case is ending after nearly five years of a long trial, where the survivor had approached the higher court multiple times, even to change the judge, alleging bias.
During the trial, the memory card containing the crucial video was also illegally accessed. The case had also led to the formation of India’s first women actors’ association, the Women in Cinema Collective, and later to the formation of the Justice Hema Committee in 2017. The Commission’s report, which was released last year, revealed rampant sexual abuse in the Malayalam film industry.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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