“The truth is winning. Only the truth will win,” reads the text on several massive posters that have mushroomed across the town of Aluva, in Kerala’s Ernakulam district. Apparently placed by a social media group called ‘4 Rights of Dileep,’ the posters claim solidarity with Malayalam actor Dileep, the alleged mastermind and the eighth accused in the actor assault case of 2017. Dileep is also the prime accused in a second case, concerning an alleged criminal conspiracy to kill the police officials investigating the assault case.
While such a poster has been placed in front of Dileep’s own house in Aluva, they also have been strategically placed in front of public spots with heavy footfalls, such as government buildings and colleges. Variations of the same poster, each with images of various 'members' of the ‘4 Rights of Dileep’ group, are also circulating on social media platforms. Among them, one even contains an image of a man who seems to be in a police uniform. Besides this, two WhatsApp numbers have also been mentioned, stating that these numbers can be contacted to become a member of this group that “loves Dileep.”
One of the versions of the poster, which contains the image of a man who seems to be in a police uniform
The members also have a private Facebook group with 327 members as of Friday, August 19. Among the many ‘solidarity with Dileep’ posts shared in this group, which TNM received access to, is a statement by ‘activist’ Biju Therattil, supposedly the admin of the group. “The fact that this group is beginning to face a lot of criticism and insults itself is indicative of the acceptance it is getting,” says the statement. “[This group] stands against the system that silences those who speak in support of the actor, and support those against him,” he claims in another post.
Another member of the group is quoted in a post as saying, “Those who love [Dileep] will not be able to turn a blind eye to the human rights violations against him. Banners declaring solidarity with him will be displayed across Kerala.” The group also has several members sharing dramatic declarations of ‘trust’ for the actor, calling him “the one who was victimised” and adding that he is not a ‘criminal,’ but an ‘accused.’
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post on July 14, the All Kerala Dileep Fans and Welfare Association distanced itself from the group ‘4 Rights of Dileep,’ stating that the association has no involvement in any programme or fund collection held in the name of this group. “Any programme held under the leadership of the Dileep fans association will be informed to you through the chairman or the state committee,” the post said.
The case pertains to the kidnap and assault of a woman actor in a moving car by a group of men near Kochi in February 2017. Dileep is accused of being the mastermind behind the said assault. The Kerala police have alleged that Dileep promised Rs 1 crore to a man named Pulsar Suni to assault the woman, record the act and hand over the visuals. In the latest development, the Kochi police filed a closure report in a rape case filed against Balachandrakumar, a director and former friend of Dileep, who turned into a whistleblower. Soon after Balachandrakumar surfaced in the media in December 2021, a woman filed a complaint that she had been raped by him in 2010. The police have filed a closure report saying the complaint was fake.