Court to pronounce verdict in Kerala actress sexual assault case on December 8

The case pertains to the kidnapping and rape of a woman actor in a moving car on the outskirts of Kochi on February 17, 2017 by a gang

The Ernakulam Principal District and Session Court will deliver its verdict in the 2017 actress kidnapping and sexual assault case, in which Malayalam actor Dileep is the eighth accused, on December 8.

The verdict comes eight years after the trial began in the case. (Representative file photo)

The verdict, set to be pronounced by principal sessions judge Honey M Varghese, comes eight years after the trial began in the case and after multiple reminders by the Supreme Court to expedite it.

The complainant had moved the higher courts twice demanding the replacement of the judge, leading to proceedings being disrupted.

The case pertains to the kidnapping and rape of a woman actor in a moving car on the outskirts of Kochi on February 17, 2017 by a gang led by Sunil Kumar, aka ‘Pulsar’ Suni, the first accused in the case. The sexual assault was also allegedly videographed.

Actor Dileep, who faces charges of criminal conspiracy, kidnapping among others, is accused of orchestrating the attack on the woman actor as a result of a grudge he held against her for allegedly being involved in his separation and eventual divorce with actress Manju Warrier. There was also an alleged altercation between Dileep and the woman actor on the sidelines of a rehearsal of a stage show.

Dileep was arrested in July 2017 by the Kerala police and spent 88 days in prison before securing bail in the case.

Dileep has dismissed the allegations against him as “baseless”.

The trial in the case took a new turn after revelations by director Balachandra Kumar that he saw Dileep watching the sexual assault visuals on his phone at his residence in Aluva. He had also testified and told mediapersons that he had seen Sunil Kumar at Dileep’s residence and the actor had conspired to endanger the lives of police officers including DySP Baiju Poulose, who was in-charge of the case at the time.

A new first information report (FIR) was lodged against Dileep based on the director’s claims. Balachandra Kumar passed away in December last year due to heart and kidney-related ailments.

Apart from Dileep and Sunil Kumar, the other accused in the case are Martin Antony, B Manikandan, VP Vijeesh, Salim, Pradeep, Charley Thomas and Sanil.

The court considered around 1,700 documents and 261 witnesses, many of whom turned hostile. The proceedings were conducted in-camera, considering the sensitivity of the case.