Kerala: Survivor in actress abduction case seeks open court trial

Actor Dileep, a well-known figure in the Malayalam film industry, is one of the accused in the case. He was jailed for nearly three months in 2017 and is currently out on bail.

Kochi: A popular Kerala actress, who survived a sexual assault in 2017, has moved the trial court seeking to conduct the remaining proceedings of the case in open court. The trial is currently in its final stages at the Principal District and Sessions Court in Ernakulam.

Actor Dileep, a well-known figure in the Malayalam film industry, is one of the accused in the case. He was jailed for nearly three months in 2017 and is currently out on bail.

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The actress has also filed a separate application seeking contempt of court proceedings against former Director General of Police (DGP) R. Sreelekha. In a recent YouTube video, Sreelekha allegedly made remarks about the case. Sreelekha, who retired last year as Kerala’s first woman DGP, surprised everyone by joining the BJP.

Earlier, the actress sought the intervention of the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, citing a lack of justice from the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court. She raised concerns about the unauthorized access, copying, and transfer of the memory card containing videos of the assault while it was in court custody. Despite her appeals, no action has been taken against those responsible for the breach.

The incident dates back to February 17, 2017, when the actress was abducted and assaulted in a moving car while traveling from Thrissur to Kochi after a film shoot. Pulsar Suni, the prime accused and a driver at film sets since 2010, recently secured bail from the Supreme Court after spending seven years in jail.

According to the police, Suni had ties to Dileep, who is the eighth accused in the case.

Investigations revealed that actor Dileep held a grudge against the actress, allegedly because she had informed his former wife about his relationship with another actor.

The case involves the brutal assault orchestrated by Suni and his associates, who abducted the actress in a premeditated act.