Actress assault: Suspects evade cops, file bail applications
- The actress was assaulted for two hours by the gang members who forced their way into her car.
- Police have launched an intense search to nab Suni and others involved in the crime.
FollowThe suspected mastermind and two of his accomplices allegedly involved in the abduction and harassment of a noted South Indian actress today moved an anticipatory bail application in the Kerala High Court.
In their plea, Sunil, known as Pulser Suni, and his suspected associates Manikandan and V P Vigeesh described as "wrong" the allegations that they had "attempted to kidnap" the film star and "attempted to commit rape".
They claimed they had been "falsely implicated as the accused" in the crime on the basis of 'confession' statement of Martin, driver of the actress' car, who had been arrested earlier for allegedly conspiring with the gang involved in the crime.
The bail pleas are likely to come up for hearing tomorrow.
The applications were filed at a time when police have launched an intense search to nab Suni and others involved in the crime that has drawn widespread condemnation from the film industry and others.
The actress was allegedly harassed for two hours by a gang of men, who forced their way into her car before fleeing at a busy area here on February 17. Her car driver Martin had been arrested even as police are looking for more persons including mastermind Pulser Suni.
"Shocked" over the abduction and harassment of a noted actress in Kerala, the South Indian Artistes Association (SIAA) today urged the states Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to ensure the culprits were soon brought to book. "The incident showed there is no safety even for a popular woman celebrity in the country," SIAA said in a letter to Vijayan.
"It is hereby requested that you intervene in the issue without any further delay and speed up the investigation to book the culprits and put them behind bars," it said.SIAA members "were shocked" to know about the incident involving the actress, it added.
The association's general secretary Vishal Krishna lauded the actress for her "courage" to speak out about the incident. "Most people would have been embarrassed to speak out if they had underwent such an incident. I laud her courage. Such an incident should not have happened," he told reporters.
He rued that "if a well-known actress could undergo such an experience, think of the situation of the common people" and said, "We are in complete solidarity with the actress." He expressed SIAAs solidarity with the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) on this matter.
