Malayalam actor Dileep acquitted in 2017 Kerala actor assault and abduction case
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A Kerala court on Monday acquitted popular Malayalam actor Dileep in the 2017 actress assault case. The court ruled on 10 defendants who continue to be tried, excluding those who were released or approved later.
According to news agency PTI, the actor-victim, who worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, was kidnapped on the night of February 17, 2017, in a crowded area of Kochi by some people who forced their way into the car and later escaped, and it was alleged that she was harassed in her car for two hours.
During further investigation, Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017, after the investigation team found that the prime accused Suni had allegedly sent him a letter from prison. Dileep was released on bail on 3 October 2017. In November 2017, police filed additional charges against seven people, including Dileep. Five of these were later expelled or became certifiers.
What did the prosecutor say?
The prosecution alleges that the complainant informed Dileep’s first wife Manju Warrier about his relations with another actor. According to PTI, a fight broke out between the complainant and Dileep over this issue during the rehearsal of a stage event in 2016.
Like the case itself, the trial took many twists and turns. In 2019, Dileep approached the Kerala High Court seeking a CBI probe but the plea was rejected. In 2019, the Supreme Court ordered the trial to be completed within six months. However, frequent petitions to the higher courts by the defendant, the prosecution and the complainant delayed the trial, and the trial finally started only in January 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic halted the proceedings for several months.
(with PTI inputs)
