Mollywood actor Dileep made strong allegations against the police on Monday—his first comments since he was acquitted in the 2017 actress assault case.
He also claimed that actress Manju Warrier (his ex-wife) was "the first" to accuse him of the conspiracy behind the sexual assault of an actress in a moving car in 2017.
He added that the conspiracy against him, that she allegedly started with her accusation, involved "high-ranking police officials". He sharply criticised the alleged conspiracy against him, claiming that it was done to "ruin (his) career", as per a Manorama News report.
Dileep, the eighth accused in the case, was acquitted in a ruling by Ernakulam Principal Sessions Judge Honey M. Varghese after the charges against him could not be proven under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, life imprisonment, or rigorous imprisonment.
Judge Varghese also convicted the first six accused in the case. The prime accused in the case is Sunil N.S. (Pulsar Suni), followed by Martin Antony, B. Manikandan, V.P. Vijayesh, H. Salim (Vadiwal Salim) and Pradeep, respectively.
They have been found guilty of various offences—including gang-rape and criminal conspiracy—under Sections 120B, 340, 354, 366, 354B, and 376D of the Indian Penal Code. Their sentences will be pronounced on December 12.
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As Dileep lauded the "truth" coming out, Mollywood actresses Parvathy, Rima Kallingal, and Remya Nambeesan expressed support for the survivor actress.
Throughout the trial, Dileep maintained that he did not know the prime accused, Pulsar Suni. This is because the prosecution claimed that the sexual assault was commissioned by Dileep as an act of revenge against the actress who had allegedly ruined his personal life.
However, the prosecution failed to establish the actor's connection with Suni through financial transactions or witness testimonies.
A letter sent by Pulsar Suni to Dileep from jail was cited as a crucial piece of evidence connecting Dileep to the case.
In the letter, Suni stated that he had not told anyone about what happened between the release dates of Sound Thoma and Georgettan’s Pooram—a phase the prosecution described as a period of conspiracy. The court, however, did not find the circumstantial evidence strong enough to prove Dileep’s role in the heinous crime committed against the actress.
With inputs from Nirmal Jovial