Aluva (Kerala): A massive crowd gathered outside Malayalam actor Dileep’s residence ‘Padmasarovaram’ on Monday to give him a rousing reception, hours after his acquittal in the 2017 actress abduction and sexual assault case.
Dileep reached home around 1.15 p.m., but it took him several minutes to make his way through the sea of supporters who had lined up along the road and inside the compound.
Inside the house, emotional scenes unfolded as his daughter Mahalakshmi rushed forward to hug him, followed by his wife Kavya Madhavan, his sister, and other close relatives and friends.
Outside, supporters celebrated by distributing laddoos amid heightened security arrangements in the area.
Even as celebrations continued, the Kerala Government announced its decision to appeal against the acquittal. Law Minister P. Rajeeve said the State has decided to challenge the verdict. “We have always stood with the victim, and hence we will go for the appeal,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court acquitted Dileep and three others, holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the charge of criminal conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt. The first six accused were found guilty in the case. All 10 accused were present in the court as directed during the pronouncement of the judgment.
Dileep, escorted out of the courtroom by a large team of lawyers, waved and smiled at supporters. He launched a sharp attack on the investigation, alleging he had been framed, launching a sharp attack on the investigation.
“In the court, the cooked-up story of the police failed,” he said, adding, “The police took the prime accused and a few others into confidence and created a story to destroy my future.”
He alleged that the conspiracy was hatched by his former wife and was aided by a senior police official and a section of the media. He also expressed deep gratitude to his counsel -- Raman Pillai and the legal team.
Adding a sharp political reaction, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee President Sunny Joseph termed the verdict “unsatisfactory,” stating that the failure to prove the conspiracy was a lapse of both the police investigation and the prosecution.
The case dates back to February 17, 2017, when a prominent Malayalam actress was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving vehicle while travelling to Kochi, a crime that shocked Kerala and triggered an intense debate on women’s safety and abuse of power in the film industry.
The survivor has chosen not to react at this stage, while women’s rights groups have expressed disappointment, as the legal battle now appears poised to enter a new phase.
--IANS