Explosive Evidence Fails to Hold: Court Clears Malayalam actor Dileep in Actress Assault Case
Malayalam actor Dileep acquitted as six others found guilty in 2017 assault case.
In a judgment that has left Kerala reeling, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court on Monday convicted six men, including the notorious Pulsar Suni, in the 2017 actress abduction and sexual assault case, but dramatically acquitted Malayalam film star Dileep, the eighth accused who was alleged to be the mastermind behind the chilling conspiracy that shook the industry to its core.
Presided over by Principal Sessions Judge Honey M Varghese, the court held prime accused Sunil Kumar alias Pulsar Suni and five others—Vipin Lal, Vysakh, Manikandan, Pradeep, and Shaji—guilty on multiple grave charges, including criminal conspiracy, abduction, rape, voyeurism, criminal intimidation, and destruction of evidence under the IT Act. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for the coming days, where the convicts face the prospect of life imprisonment.
The barbaric incident unfolded on the night of February 17, 2017, when a leading actress, returning from a shoot in Thrissur, was waylaid near Athani on the Kochi route. Her car was blocked, she was forcibly dragged into another vehicle, and for nearly two agonising hours, she was sexually assaulted and filmed by the attackers, an act allegedly intended for future blackmail. The case triggered nationwide outrage and gave birth to the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), which became a landmark movement for women’s rights and safety in Malayalam cinema.
The prosecution’s case rested heavily on the claim that Dileep, driven by deep personal animosity towards the survivor, paid ₹1.5 crore through middlemen to Pulsar Suni to execute the assault as revenge. Despite explosive recoveries of alleged audio “quotations,” memory cards, and marathon investigations, the court ruled that the chain of evidence against Dileep remained broken and circumstantial, leading to his full acquittal on all 13 charges framed against him.
As jubilant crowds gathered outside Dileep’s Aluva residence waving posters and bursting crackers, the survivor and several women’s organisations voiced profound grief and resolve. Sources close to the prosecution confirm that a swift appeal against the acquittal will be filed in the Kerala High Court, meaning the final chapter of this explosive saga is yet to be written.
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