Days after a Kerala court convicted six accused and acquitted four, including Malayalam movie star Dileep, in the 2017 actor assault case, the survivor on Sunday said she was not surprised by the verdict and that her fundamental rights were not protected during the course of the trial.
In a signed post on her Instagram handle, she said she was grateful the six accused had been convicted, but also expressed her disappointment, saying she had come to the realisation that “not every citizen in this country is treated equally before the law”.
“After 8 years, 9 months, and 23 days, I finally saw a small ray of light at the end of a very long and painful journey. Six of the accused have been convicted, and for that, I am GRATEFUL! This moment is dedicated to those who chose to call my pain a lie and this case a made-up story. I hope you are at peace with yourselves today!” the actor wrote in her statement.
She also sought to make it clear that the main accused in the case, Pulsar Suni, who was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment on Friday along with the five other convicts, was not her personal driver.
“And to those who still keep saying that accused No 1 was my personal driver, this is completely false! He was not my driver, not my employee, and not someone I knew. He was a random person who happened to be assigned as a driver for a movie I worked on in 2016! Ironically, I met him only once or twice during that time, and never again, until the day this crime happened! Please stop spreading false stories!” she said.
She said she knew “something was not right” about the way the case was being handled as early as 2020. “This verdict may surprise many people, but it did not surprise me. As early as 2020, I began to feel that something was not right. Even the prosecution noticed changes in the way the case was being handled, especially when it came to one particular accused,” she said.
She pointed out that over the years, she had approached the High Court and the Supreme Court multiple times, “clearly stating that I did not trust this court.” However, all her requests to “move this case away from the same judge” was dismissed, she said.
“After years of pain, tears, and emotional struggle, I have come to a painful realisation: ‘NOT EVERY CITIZEN IN THIS COUNTRY IS TREATED EQUALLY BEFORE THE LAW,’” she wrote in the Instagram post.
“At the end of the day, this verdict made me realise how strongly human judgment can shape decisions. I also know that every court does not function in the same way! My heartfelt thanks to everyone who stood by me throughout this long journey! And to those who continue to attack me with abusive comments and paid narratives, you are free to continue doing what you are paid to do,” she added.
She then listed reasons why she said she had lost faith in the trial court:
“My fundamental rights were not protected. The most important evidence in this case the memory card was found to have been illegally accessed three times while it was in court custody.”
“Two public prosecutors resigned from this case, stating clearly that the court environment had become hostile towards the prosecution. Both of them personally told me not to expect justice from this court, as they felt it was biased.”
“I repeatedly requested a proper investigation into the tampering of the memory card. However, the investigation report was never given to me, until I kept asking again and again.”
“While I was fighting for a fair trial, the accused filed a petition requesting that this same judge continue to hear the case. This raised even more serious doubts in my mind.”
“l even wrote letters to the Honourable President of India and the Honourable Prime Minister of India, expressing my concerns and seeking intervention!”
“I requested the court to conduct the proceedings in an open court, so that the public and media could be present and see for themselves what was happening. This request was denied.”
Prominent Malayalam actor Manju Warrier, who was mentioned by Dileep in his first comments after acquittal as the person whose statement led to the start of a “conspiracy” against him, also issued a statement on social media.
Warrier, who is also Dileep’s ex-wife, said justice for the survivor remained “incomplete”.
“I have utmost respect for the Honorable Court. But in this case, justice for the survivor is still incomplete. Only those who committed the crime have been punished. The mind that planned and enabled this heinous act, whoever that is, still walks free, and that is terrifying. Justice will be complete only when everyone behind this crime is held accountable,” she said an Instagram post.
She added, “This is not just for one survivor. This is for every girl, every woman, every human being who deserves to walk with courage, heads held high, without fear in their workplaces, on the streets, and in life. With her. Then, now, and always.”
It was Warrier who was the first to publicly raise the conspiracy angle in the case during a meeting of film professionals in Kochi two days after the 2017 assault on her fellow actor. At the time, Warrier had said, “It is very difficult to express through words what I feel… I am proud of her as she is fighting back… Whoever is behind this criminal conspiracy should be brought to light.”
This is the second reaction from the woman in the past week after a trial court in Ernakulam convicted six accused, sentencing them to 20 years in jail, while acquitting Malayalam actor Dileep, who had faced conspiracy charges. (File Photo) 
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