Demand for open trial in Kerala actress abduction case turned down

Kochi, Dec 21 A court in Kerala's Ernakulam on Saturday turned down the demand by a popular Kerala actress, who survived a sexual assault in 2017, seeking to conduct the remaining proceedings of the case in open court.

The trial is currently in its final stages at the Principal District and Sessions Court in Ernakulam.

It was on December 12 that she had moved the court seeking an open trial but with her demand turned down, it remains to be seen what the next move of the actress is going to be.

Incidentally, the actress suffered a jolt when the key witness in the case, film director P. Balachandra Kumar passed away at a private hospital on December 13 after being unwell for a while. Kumar has been regularly appearing in the court whenever being asked during the trial.

Actor Dileep, a well-known figure in the Malayalam film industry, is one of the accused in the case. He was jailed for nearly three months in 2017 and is currently out on bail.

Earlier, the actress sought the intervention of President Droupadi Murmu, citing a lack of justice from the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court. She raised concerns about the unauthorised access, copying, and transfer of the memory card containing videos of the assault while it was in court custody.

Despite her appeals, no action has been taken against those responsible for the breach, she said.

The incident dates back to February 17, 2017, when the actress was abducted and assaulted in a moving car while travelling from Thrissur to Kochi after a film shoot.

Prime accused Pulsar Suni, a driver at film sets since 2010, recently secured bail from the Supreme Court after spending seven years in jail. According to the police, Suni had ties to Dileep, who is the eighth accused in the case.

Investigations revealed that actor Dileep held a grudge against the actress, allegedly because she had informed his former wife about his relationship with another actor. The case involves the brutal assault, orchestrated by Suni and his associates, after abducting the actress in a premeditated act.