Actress sexual assault case: Survivor assured by Kerala CM of appeal against acquittal of key accused

Following the trial court verdict in the 2017 Kerala actress sexual assault case, the survivor met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at his official residence, Cliff House, here on Tuesday. During the meeting that lasted for more than an hour, she was assured that the government will file an appeal against the trial court verdict.

During the meeting, Pinarayi Vijayan told the survivor that the government and the people of Kerala are with her.

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The special prosecutor in the case has prepared a report, explaining the possibilities of an appeal in the case. Preparations for the appeal have also been initiated against the trial court’s verdict acquitting the eighth accused in the case, actor Dileep and four others, of the offences charged against them.

The Ernakulam principal sessions court on December 8 acquitted the five accused of all criminal charges leveled against them in the 2017 sensational case.

The judge, Honey M Varghese, acquitted actor Dileep ( P Gopalakrishnan) holding that the prosecution could not prove the conspiracy charges leveled against him. He, however, found six others, who directly committed the crime, guilty in the case. Those found guilty include Sunil NS, alias Pulsar Suni,37, prime accused in the case, Martin Antony, 33, a driver with a studio in Kochi; B Manikandan, 37, also a driver; Vijeesh V P, 38, an electrician, while Salim H, 30, and Pradeep, 31, are bus crew.

Apart from Dileep, the court acquitted Charlie Thomas, Sanil Kumar alias Mestri Sanil, and Sarath Nair. Charlie had been accused of providing a hideout for other accused after the incident. Sanil had faced charges of conspiring with Pulsur Sunil in jail to extract money by threatening Dileep. Sarath faced charges for handing over and destroying the visuals of the sexual assault. The court had declared three other accused, Vishnu, Vipinlal and Aneesh, as approvers.

The court on Friday sentenced Sunil NS alias Pulsar Sni, the main accused in the 2017 actress sexual assault case, and five others- Martin Antony, B Manikandan, Vijeesh V P, Salim H, and Pradeep, 31, who were convicted for the crime, to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The survivor, in a scathing social media post on Sunday, stated that the trial court verdict did not come as a surprise to her. “Not every citizen in this country is treated equally before the law,” calling it her “painful realisation after years of pain, tears, and emotional struggle”.

She then went on to say that the verdict might have come as a surprise to many, but not to her. According to her, she began sensing irregularities in the handling of the case as early as 2020. She added that even the prosecution had noticed changes in the conduct of the trial, particularly in relation to one of the accused.