Dileep acquitted in 2017 Kerala actress assault case

The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep on December 8, 2025, in the high-profile 2017 actress abduction and assault case, ruling that prosecutors failed to prove his involvement in the conspiracy. Judge Honey M Varghese convicted six others—prime accused Sunil NS (Pulsar Suni), Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijeesh VP, Salim H (Vadival Salim), and Pradeep—on charges including gang rape, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, and outraging a woman’s modesty. The incident occurred on February 17, 2017, when the actress, known for films in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu, was allegedly abducted and assaulted in her car for two hours in Kochi. Trial delays spanned over five years from January 2020, involving 200+ witnesses, evidence disputes, and allegations of tampering, reshaping debates on misogyny in Malayalam cinema and sparking the Women in Cinema Collective. Sentencing for the convicted is set for December 12, amid tight security at the courthouse. During subsequent investigations, Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017, after the probe team discovered that the prime accused, Suni, had allegedly sent him a letter from prison. Dileep was accused of conspiring in the rape as an act of revenge, reportedly because the survivor had informed his then wife about his extramarital affair. After spending 83 days in custody, Dileep was granted bail on October 3, 2017.