Sexual Assault case: Setback for Dileep, Kerala HC dumps actor's plea
Malayalam actor Dileep’s plea to stop further investigations in the case was rejected by Justice Kauser Edappagath.
FollowMalayalam actor Dileep’s plea to quash further probe in the 2017 sexual assault of an actress case was rejected by the Kerala High Court on Tuesday. The plea was being heard by the single bench of Justice Kauser Edappagath who delivered the verdict.
Senior Advocate B Raman Pillai represented Dileep along with advocates Thomas T Varghese, Philip T Varghese, Achu Shubha Abraham, Nitya R, Litha VT and Monisha KR. The prosecution was represented by Senior Advocate TA Shaji, Director General of Prosecution.
The Malayalam actor, Dileep, is being tried at Ernakulam’s Additional Sessions Court. Allegations of planning and executing a revenge crime against a popular actress (the survivor) have been pressed against Dileep. The serious accusations levelled him say that he got the actress abducted, sexually assaulted her, and also photographed her in a moving vehicle.
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The trial took a fresh turn after filmmaker Balachandra Kumar gave an interview and also released some audio clippings claiming close association between Dileep and Pulsar Suni. While Dileep is the eight accused in the case, the latter is the first accused.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Court was informed by the Investigating Officer on January 3 that further investigations would be required based on the fresh allegations.
A new FIR was registered on February 24 against Dileep and five others after Balachandra Kumar’s interview and the audio clip unveiled a conspiracy against police officers involved in the case to kill them. After this, Dileep and the other accused moved to the court seeking anticipatory bail which was granted on February 7.
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Thereafter, Dileep moved a plea with the High Court to seek quashing of further investigation in the sexual assault case of 2017. Furthermore, as an alternative, he requested the investigation to be handed over to the CBI.
Recently, the actress came out in open to reveal her identity after she was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by Dileep, seven years ago. The actress said that she identifies herself as a survivor and not as a victim.
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The Sexual Assault Case:
The alleged incident took place on February 17, 2017, reportedly. According to the actress who has worked in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam film industries, she was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted in her car for two hours. Some of the accused had forced themselves into her car and later escaped in a busy area of Kochi. The allegations also say that the entire act was filmed as a weapon to blackmail her At least seven out of the 10 accused were arrested after a preliminary probe. Dileep, who is the eight accused in the case, was also arrested but was later released on bail. He claimed that he is innocent in the matter.
