Kerala Court Acquits Actor Dileep in 2017 Actress Assault Case

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Malayalam actor Dileep, the eighth accused in the high-profile 2017 actor assault case, was acquitted by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court on Friday.

Accused one to six in the case, including the main accused Pulsar Suni, who were directly involved in the crime, were found guilty, with their sentencing set for December 12.

They were charged with gang rape, kidnapping, and conspiracy. While Dileep was accused of being the mastermind, the prosecution failed to prove the conspiracy charges against him, leading to his acquittal due to lack of evidence.

The court also convicted Pulsar Suni under the IT Act. Charlie, who aided the accused in going into hiding, along with the tenth accused, Sarath, was also acquitted.

Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey M Varghese delivered the verdict in a high-profile case after a six-year-long trial. The 2017 incident had stunned the entire state, especially the Malayalam film industry.

Ten people faced trial, including six who directly took part in the crime. The prosecution alleged that Dileep had plotted the assault on the actress due to personal enmity. Dileep, however, claimed he was framed and that the prosecution fabricated evidence.

The first six accused, currently out on bail, will be remanded, with their bail cancelled following conviction, and sent to Kakkanad jail. During the trial, 28 witnesses turned hostile.

The accused in the case, including Dileep and Pulsar Suni, who were previously in jail, were released on bail. Actor Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017, and granted bail after 85 days, while the first accused, Pulsar Suni, arrested in February 2017, was released on bail by the Supreme Court in September last year.

The trial, which began in 2019, saw 261 witnesses testify and 1,700 documents reviewed. Three accused turned hostile and became approvers.

The actress was brutally attacked in a moving vehicle in Kochi in February 2017. During the trial, she told the court that Dileep had held a grudge against her since 2012 for telling Manju Warrier about his relationship with Kavya Madhavan.

The prosecution said Pulsar Suni and his gang had planned to rape the actress and record the footage in Goa in January 2017, but the plan failed when she returned early from shooting. The attack was later carried out in Kochi.

The shocking incident occurred on February 17, 2017, when the actress was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted inside a moving car while travelling from Thrissur to Ernakulam. Near Angamaly, another vehicle rammed into the car she was in, and a group of men attacked the driver.

They then forcibly entered her vehicle and drove along the highway. During this time, the main accused, Pulsar Suni, allegedly assaulted the actress and recorded the act on his mobile phone. After the crime, the gang abandoned her outside a film director’s residence and fled.

Police later arrested seven people in connection with the assault, suspecting a conspiracy and that the recording was meant for blackmail. Suspicion fell on Dileep after a letter from Pulsar Suni, addressed to him, surfaced from jail. Dileep denied the allegations, accusing the media of spreading lies. He was taken into custody in July 2017 and spent 85 days in jail before being granted bail.

The case went through several courts, including the High Court and the Supreme Court. It took a dramatic turn in 2022 when the director Balachandra Kumar released audio clips suggesting Dileep’s involvement.

He also alleged that there were plans to target members of the investigation team. Based on his disclosures, the police registered a fresh case against the actor and five others, charging them with conspiracy to harm police officials.

The actress' assault case had sparked widespread outrage in the state, including within the Malayalam film industry. Many prominent activists, film actors and Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) demanded better safety for women in the industry.

This led to the formation of the Hema Committee, which investigated a wide range of problems faced by women in the industry, including sexual misconduct and a lack of even minimum facilities on the sets.

The report was submitted in 2019, and later, the High Court directed the state government to register cases based on the committee’s findings.

Actor Dileep's reaction

After being acquitted, Dileep lashed out at the Kerala police, alleging that some officers had fabricated a false story to frame him. “The conspiracy against me began with Manju’s statement,” he said, referring to actor Manju Warrier’s speech at a gathering in Kochi to express solidarity with the survivor, two days after the abduction and sexual assault.

Dileep claimed a senior police officer enlisted cops with a criminal mindset to implicate him, creating a false case with the help of other accused and using parts of the media to spread the story. “Today, that story has collapsed in court. The real conspiracy was to frame me, ruin my film career, and destroy my life,” he said. He expressed gratitude to his family, friends, lawyers, and everyone who stood by him during this difficult time.

Kerala government to appeal against verdict

Kerala Law Minister P. Rajeev announced that the government will appeal the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court’s verdict in the 2017 actress assault case. He said the decision to challenge the December 8 ruling in a higher court was made after discussions with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Shortly after the verdict, Minister Saji Cherian affirmed that the state government would continue to stand firmly with the survivor.