Actor Dileep has been acquitted by a Kerala court in the 2017 sexual assault case involving a leading Malayalam actress. The legal battle lasted nearly eight years, concluding with the verdict on Friday. The Ernakulam District and Principal Sessions Court, headed by Judge Honey M Varghese, announced the verdict at 11 am. Dileep, who was accused number eight in the case, has been found “not guilty.”
Including other charges, Dileep faced an additional charge of destroying evidence.
A total of ten individuals, including prime accused Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijesh VP, Salim H, Pradeep, Charly Thomas, Sanil Kumar (also known as Mesthri Sanil), Sharath, and Dileep, faced trial.
They were charged under sections 120A (conspiracy), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 109 (abetment of offence), 366 (kidnapping or abducting a woman), 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with an intent to outrage her modesty), 354B (use of criminal force to disrobe a woman), 357 (use of criminal force to wrongfully confine a person), 376D (gang rape), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 212 (harbouring an offender) and 34 (common intention) of IPC.
Section 66E of the Information Technology Act (capturing or transmitting images of private areas without consent) and 67A (transmitting sexually explicit material electronically).
What is the 2017 sexual assault case?
The case stems from the abduction and alleged sexual assault of the actress inside her car in Kochi on February 17, 2017, where she was reportedly held for nearly two hours.
The accuseds were charged under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, sexual assault, gang rape, destruction of evidence, and common intention, as well as provisions under the Information Technology Act.
The first chargesheet in the case was filed in April 2017. Dileep was arrested in July 2017 after investigators alleged a connection with Pulsar Suni, who sent him a letter from jail. He was later granted bail in October 2017. A supplementary chargesheet was filed later that year, and several accused were either discharged or became approvers during the trial.
