An accused turned approver in the sensational Kerala actor assault case was arrested on July 30 after he failed to appear before the trial court in Kochi for witness examination. Vishnu, who was the tenth accused in the case, had turned approver in February 2021. The controversial actor assault case pertains to the abduction and rape of a popular Malayalam female actor in February 2017. Malayalam actor Dileep is the eight accused in the case, and is alleged to have masterminded the crime due to the grudge against the survivor actor. Vishnu is alleged to have helped a key accused in the case, Pulsar Suni, to allegedly contact Dileep from prison after arrest.
After being produced for a witness examination on Friday, he was let off. However, since the witness examination has not been completed, he is asked to appear before the court on July 31.
As per the prosecution case, Vishnu was a prisoner at the District Jail in Kakkanad while the first accused in the case, Pulsar Suni and others were lodged in the same prison after being arrested in the case in 2017. Vishnu allegedly arranged a mobile phone and SIM for Pulsar Suni who allegedly contacted ‘associates’ of accused actor Dileep.
Vishnu is the second accused to turn approver in the case. Another approver in the case is Kasaragod native Vipin Lal. Months back, he had come out to the media alleging that accused Dileep’s associates were threatening him to change statements.
Last week, the trial court judge wrote to the Supreme Court seeking more time to complete the trial. The trial in the 2017 case has been delayed massively over the past years. In December 2018, after coming out on bail, Dileep moved to SC with a plea seeking a copy of assault visuals. Following this, SC stayed the case for about six months. In November 2019, SC ordered to complete trial within six months, however, the pandemic further delayed the trial proceedings.