Court finds first six guilty in actor assault case, Dileep acquitted

KOCHI: The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court judge Honey M Varghese has found the first six accused guilty in the actor assault case. They all have direct involvement in the crime. Offences including gangrape were proved against them. Dileep has been acquitted in the offence of rape. The bail of the six accused has been cancelled and they are likely to get maximum sentence. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on December 12.

Charley the seventh accused, Dileep and his friend Sharath Nair have been acquitted. The court said there is no proof for conspiracy and destruction of evidence against Dileep.

The verdict is delivered after eight and a half years in the country's first case registered for issuing a quotation for sexual assault. There are ten accused in the case, including Dileep. Pulsar Suni is the first accused. Martin Antony is the (second accused), B Manikandan (third accused) V P Vijeesh (fourth accused), H Salim alias Vadiwal Salim (fifth accused), Pradeep (sixth accused) and Charlie Thomas (seventh accused). The eighth accused is actor Dileep and Sanil Kumar (Mesthiri Sanil) is the ninth accused.

Charges including rape, conspiracy, insulting womanhood, using force, wrongful detention, destruction of evidence, taking and distributing obscene pictures have been imposed on them. Dileep's friend G Sarath Nair (15th accused), involved in the destruction of evidence, is the tenth accused. All the accused appeared in the court today. The actress was sexually abused in a moving car on February 17, 2017. Pulsar Suni had recorded the act on his mobile phone.