Dileep Plea Against Further Probe In Actress Assault Case: Kerala High Court Agrees To Hear Victim

The Kerala High Court on Monday, February 21 allowed the request of the victim in the 2017 actress assault case to be made a part of the proceedings in the plea moved by actor Dileep opposing the further probe in the matter by the police. The high court also heard substantial arguments, on the behalf of the actor, during the day's proceedings which remained inconclusive and would continue on Tuesday, February 22.

During the hearing, held in physical appearance mode, senior advocate B Raman Pillai -- appearing for Dileep -- told the court that the initiation of further probe within hours of receiving some information from director Balachandra Kumar, indicates that it was "stage-managed". He termed the further investigation as a sham and an attempt to protract the trial in the case.

The court, however, during the hearing asked why the fresh evidence cannot be investigated. The actor's lawyers said that the fresh probe was initiated without first getting the permission of the trial court which was required as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court.

In the plea, filed through advocates Philip T Varghese and Thomas T Varghese, the actor has contended that further investigation in that case was not permissible as a final report had been filed in November 2017, charges were framed in January 2020 and only one prosecution witness -- one of the investigating officers -- remained to be examined. It has sought quashing of the report, filed by the police in the trial court, allegedly containing the statement of Kumar and further proceedings pursuant to the same.

Kumar had recently made some startling revelations against Dileep in the actress assault case through the media. He has also claimed that there is evidence including digital ones to prove that Dileep had influenced the witnesses.

The actor's latest plea has also sought a declaration that further probe being carried out in that case was illegal and a direction to the trial court to "eschew" the same from the record.

The Case

The actress-victim, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, was abducted and allegedly molested in her car for two hours by some persons who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area. The entire act was filmed by those persons to blackmail the actress. There are 10 accused in the 2017 case and police have arrested seven. Dileep was arrested subsequently and released on bail.

For women in distress or facing harassment, help available in India at the following helpline numbers:

Central Social Welfare Board - Police Helpline: 1091/ 1291, (011) 23317004; Shakti Shalini- women's shelter: (011) 24373736/ 24373737; All India Women's Conference: 10921/ (011) 23389680; Joint Women's Programme: (011) 24619821; Sakshi- violence intervention center: (0124) 2562336/ 5018873; Nirmal Niketan (011) 27859158; JAGORI (011) 26692700; Nari Raksha Samiti: (011) 23973949; RAHI Recovering and Healing from Incest. A support centre for women survivors of child sexual abuse: (011) 26238466/ 26224042, 26227647.