Kerala Actress Abduction & Rape Case: Actor Dileep Acquitted, Six Others Found Guilty. A Timeline

The Ernakulam principal sessions court on Monday acquitted Actor Dileep in the high-profile 2017 abduction and rape case. The court found six others, including the prime accused Sunil N S, popularly known as Pulsar Suni, guilty.

The Ernakulam principal sessions court on Monday acquitted Actor Dileep over the abduction and rape of an actress in 2017. The court found six others, including the prime accused Sunil N S, popularly known as Pulsar Suni, guilty for directly committing the crime. The main charges against the six accused, including Pulsar Suni were gang rape, kidnapping, and conspiracy. All of these were proven. Although he did not directly participate in the crime, the eighth accused Dileep, whom the prosecution alleges was the main conspirator, was also charged with rape. 

However, the prosecution failed to prove the criminal conspiracy against Dileep. The court acquitted Dileep, who was an accused in the case, citing a lack of evidence, including in the conspiracy.

Charlie, who allegedly helped the accused go into hiding, and the tenth accused, Sarath, were also acquitted. Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court Judge Honey M Varghese delivered the verdict in the case after a six-year-long trial.

A total of ten people, including the six accused, faced trial. The case against Dileep was that he committed rape due to personal animosity towards the actress. However, Dileep's argument was that he was framed in the case and that the evidence fabricated by the prosecution was presented in court. The accused from one to six, who are currently on bail, will be remanded. 

Their bail will be canceled and will be moved to Kakkanad jail. 

What's the high-profile case

The actress, who has worked in both the Malayalam and Tamil film industries, was kidnapped and sexually abused, in her car, for two hours on the night of February 17 by a group of men who then fled. Dileep and other accused, including Pulsar Suni, who were previously in jail, were released on bail. Actor Dileep was arrested in the case on July 10, 2017. He was granted bail after 85 days in October 2017. 

The first accused, Pulsar Suni, who was arrested in February 2017, was released on bail from the Supreme Court last September. The trial in the case began in 2019. 261 witnesses were examined. 

The court considered 1700 documents. Three accused in the case were made approvers. Police officer Anish, Vipin Lal, and Vishnu were made approvers. Two accused in the case, lawyer Raju Joseph and lawyer Pratheesh Chacko, were discharged by the district court.

The attacked actress herself informed the court during the trial that actor Dileep had animosity towards her since 2012. The actress testified in court that Dileep had been hostile towards her since 2012 and that the reason for the hostility was that she had told Manju Warrier about his relationship with Kavya Madhavan. 

There is also a statement that Dileep said that none of those who stood against him have made it anywhere in Malayalam cinema. Meanwhile, the first accused Pulsar Suni also came forward during the trial, rejecting Dileep's stance that he did not know him. Pulsar Suni's position was that they both knew each other. 

The prosecution had informed the court that Pulsar Suni and his gang had previously attempted to rape the actress and record the visuals. The plan was to commit the crime in Goa on January 3, 2017. 

However, the crime did not happen as the actress returned after completing the shoot early. Subsequently, she was attacked in Kochi.

Accused in 2017 Kerala Actress Assault Case

1. Sunil Kumar (Pulsar Suni)

2. Martin Antony

3. Manikandan

4. Vijeesh V P

5. Salim aka Vadival Salim

6. Pradeep

(The first six accused directly participated in the crime - the court found them all guilty)

7. Charlie Thomas (Helped the accused go into hiding) - Acquitted

8. Dileep (Conspired for the crime) - Acquitted

9. Sanalkumar (Helped the accused in jail. Provided assistance to speak on the phone with Appunni and Nadirshah) - Acquitted

10. Sarath G Nair (Was added as an accused following Balachandrakumar's revelation) - Acquitted