Breaking her silence, the female actor who was sexually assaulted in February 2017 in Kerala, has written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, conveying her anguish over the recent turn of events in the case. The Special Public Prosecutor, VN Anilkumar, resigned last week, protesting the attitude of the judge. Anilkumar is the second SPP, who was representing the survivor, to resign in the case. In November 2020, Special Public Prosecutor A Suresan had quit and alleged that CBI special court Judge Honey Verghese was biased in his approach to the case. Malayalam actor Dileep is accused number eight in the case and has been accused of paying a man named Pulsar Suni to kidnap and sexually assault the survivor.
In her letter, the survivor conveyed her concerns to the Chief Minister and said that with two SPPs quitting, the fate of her case is in jeopardy. A copy of the letter has also been sent to the Kerala Director General of Police (DGP). She has asked the CM to look into the matter and appoint a capable SPP at the earliest. Public Prosecutors are appointed by the government to represent people in the criminal justice system.
The survivor has also told the Chief Minister that allegations raised by a man named Balachandra Kumar against Dileep needs to be probed. The survivor has told the CM that she seeks justice in the case.
Balachandra Kumar, who claims to be Dileep’s friend, had recently appeared in the media and levelled serious allegations against Dileep. He has said that Dileep and Pulsar Suni knew each other well and that he had met Pulsar Suni at Dileep’s house in December 2016.
He has also alleged that Dileep has a copy of the video of the sexual assault and that Dileep had watched the video with his friends in his house in November 2017. Balachandra Kumar has accused Dileep of trying to influence an important witness called Sagar Vincent.
The Kerala police has meanwhile submitted a plea before Judge Honey Verghese regarding reinvestigation. The judge will hear the petition on January 4.
Watch Balachandra Kumar in conversation with TNM’s Dhanya Rajendran