Two months after the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) in the sensational Kerala actor assault case resigned, the Kerala government has appointed a new Special Prosecutor in the case. Advocate VN Anilkumar, based out of Kochi, will be the new Special Public Prosecutor who will represent the survivor actor, a source confirmed to TNM, adding that an order in this regard will be issued on Monday.
The former SPP in the case, A Suresan who had been representing the survivor actor in the abduction and assault case, had resigned in November for 'he was not tenable to continue and he was disappointed with how things panned out'.
Suresan resigned days after the Kerala High Court rejected the application by the survivor, as well as the government, seeking a transfer of the trial to a different court. The prosecution had alleged in its application that the judge hearing the case - Honey M Varghese - had a “discriminatory approach” while hearing the case. In October, A Suresan had approached the trial court asking it to stop the proceedings into the case. He alleged that the court is “highly biased” and that is “detrimental” to the judicial system and to the entire prosecution.
The case of 2017 pertains to the abduction and sexual assault of a woman actor in the state. Malayalam actor Dileep is the eighth accused in the case. He is alleged to have masterminded the assault over a personal grudge against the female actor. The trial of the case began in November 2019 before the Additional Sessions (CBI special No 111) Court in Ernakulam and is being heard by Honey M Varghese.
The survivor actor in October had moved the Kerala High Court seeking that the trial in the case be transferred out of the court of judge Honey M Varghese, alleging that the court hearing the case is “biased” and had a “hostile attitude.”