‘I have done no wrong’: Dileep’s message to CM surfaces as court set to deliver verdict after 8 yrs

Kochi: The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court will pronounce the verdict on December 8 in the case relating to the assault on an actress. The verdict is coming eight years after the incident took place. Since both the survivor and one of the accused are from the film industry, and because of the strong stance taken by the survivor, the case received nationwide attention. Court proceedings will begin at 11 AM. Actor Dileep is the 8th accused in the case, which has a total of 10 accused. Pulsar Suni is the first accused.

In the incident where the actress was abducted, sexually assaulted, and filmed, ten accused faced trial, including the six who were directly involved. The allegation against Dileep is that he conspired and allegedly hired assailants for the assault to settle personal animosity against the actress. His argument is that he was framed and the prosecution presented fabricated evidence.

Hours ahead of the verdict, details from the trial have emerged. Reports indicate that Dileep sent a message to the Chief Minister claiming that he was innocent. The message was sent to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the 5th day after the incident. The message mentioned that he was under extreme mental pressure and that he had done nothing wrong. It is also said that Dileep sent similar messages to senior police officers. According to the prosecution, Dileep sent the messages fearing that the investigation would turn towards him.

The prosecution feels that the crime was driven by Dileep’s grudge over the survivor as she had informed his then-wife, Manju Warrier, about his relationship with actress Kavya Madhavan. The chain of events began when Manju Warrier saw the chats between Dileep and Kavya Madhavan. However, Dileep’s stance is that the allegation of giving a quotation for the assault is a police story.

The incident took place on February 17, 2017. The actress was traveling from Thrissur to Ernakulam for a film shoot when she was abducted and obscene visuals were recorded as per the alleged quotation plan.

The defense produced 221 documents. A total of 28 witnesses turned hostile. Charges against the accused include rape, conspiracy, outraging modesty, unlawful detention, destruction of evidence, filming obscene content, and dissemination of such content.

Within days of the incident, Pulsar Suni and others were arrested. Dileep was arrested in July during investigation into the conspiracy angle.

Trial proceedings began on March 8, 2018. As requested by the survivor, the High Court appointed a woman judge. The trial was held in-camera. Later, following revelations by director Balachandra Kumar, the Crime Branch continued the probe and filed a supplementary chargesheet. Crime Branch DYSP Baiju K Paulose was the investigating officer. Some from the original accused list were removed and some were made approvers.

The examination of prosecution witnesses was completed in September last year, taking 109 days. The investigation officer Baiju Paulose was the last witness examined. Though it was expected that the verdict would be delivered earlier this year after the defense completed its witness examination, procedural delays prolonged the final judgment.

Case at a Glance

• 261 witnesses

• 438 days for witness examination alone

• 833 documents submitted by prosecution

• 142 material evidence items

 Timeline

• Feb 17, 2017 – Actress assaulted

• Feb 18 – Driver Martin Antony arrested

• Feb 19 – Vadival Salim and Pradeep also arrested

• Feb 20 – Manikandan arrested

• Feb 23 – First accused Pulsar Suni arrested when he appeared in court to surrender

• June 28 – Dileep questioned in connection with the case

• July 10 – Dileep arrested

• Oct 3 – High Court grants Dileep bail

• March 8, 2018 – Trial begins

• Nov 29, 2019 – Supreme Court directs trial to be completed within six months

• December 25, 2021 – Director Balachandra Kumar’s revelations

• January 4, 2022 – Approval for further investigation based on revelations

• Sept 17, 2024 – Bail granted to Pulsar Suni

• Dec 11 – Final arguments begin

• Apr 9, 2025 – Defense completes arguments

List of Accused

1. Sunil NS (Pulsar Suni)

2. Martin Antony

3. B Manikandan

4. VP Vijeesh

5. H Salim (Vadival Salim)

6. Pradeep

7. Charlie Thomas

8. Actor Dileep (P Gopalakrishnan)

9. Sanilkumar (Mesthiri Sanil)

10. G. Sharath (listed as 15th accused initially)