Kerala court finds Dileep not guilty in 2017 actress assault case; Pulsar Suni convicted

KOCHI: A Kerala court on Monday acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep in a case relating to the sexual assault of a South Indian actress in Kochi in 2017, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish the conspiracy.

The court, however, found prime accused Sunil N S alias Pulsar Suni, who directly committed the crime, guilty, along with five others: Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijeesh VP, Salim H alias Vadival Salim and Pradeep. They were found guilty of gang rape, outraging the modesty of a woman, criminal conspiracy and kidnapping, according to Bar and Bench.

Apart from Dileep, the court also acquitted three other persons in the case.

The verdict was pronounced by Ernakulam Principal Sessions Judge Honey M Varghese, who had concluded the hearing in the lengthy trial on November 25.

The sexual assault on the actress, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, after her car was abducted for two hours, had shaken the conscience of Kerala society. According to the prosecution, several persons forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area.

The ten accused who faced trial are Sunil NS alias Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijesh V P, Salim H, Pradeep, Charly Thomas, actor Dileep (real name P Gopalakrishnan), Sanil Kumar alias Mesthri Sanil, and Sharath.

Police arrested the accused soon after the incident and filed the first charge sheet against seven persons in April 2017.

During subsequent investigations, Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017, after the probe team discovered that the prime accused, Suni, had allegedly sent him a letter from prison. Dileep was accused of conspiring in the rape as an act of revenge, reportedly because the survivor had informed his then wife about his extramarital affair.

After spending 83 days in custody, Dileep was granted bail on October 3, 2017.

(With Online Desk inputs)