Malayalam actress assault: Social media thinks Dileep trying to gain sympathy

KOCHI: Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are agog with comments that prominent actor Dileep, under police custody in the case connected with the abduction and assault of a woman actor, has been orchestrating a campaign in the media with the intention of creating a sympathy wave for the beleaguered actor. A slew of comments appeared on Facebook on Friday citing the appearance of an unusual number stories that have appeared in various media platforms including a slew of television news channels about not branding Dileep guilty before a court verdict.

“Kerala is really ahead of the rest of the country. It seems the prime accused in the gangrape case has hired PR firms to refurbish his image,” said Rajesh Ramachandran, a veteran journalist in a Facebook post. Several other media persons and social media activists have also joined to express their dismay at the orchestrated campaign, which has been equated with something similar to the paid news services used by political parties during elections.

Apart from social media platforms some of the prominent television news channels have also ran a series of stories focusing on the charity works undertaken by Dileep over the years. Apart from covering the charity projects undertaken by Dileep, the television news channels also provided extensive coverage to the brother of Dileep vouching for the innocence of the actor and his ability to bounce back from adversities.