Kerala Court Acquits Actor Dileep, Convicts Pulsar Suni and Five Others in 2017 Actress Kidnap and Assault Case
A split verdict sees the conspiracy charge collapse for Kerala film star Dileep but six face sentencing on December 12.
Staff WriterDec 8, 2025, 10:44 AMA Kerala court on Monday acquitted Malayalam actor Dileep in the 2017 abduction and sexual assault case involving a prominent actress, while convicting prime accused Sunil NS alias Pulsar Suni and five others on multiple serious charges.
Ernakulam Principal District and Sessions Judge Honey M. Varghese held that Suni, Martin Antony, Manikandan B, Vijeesh VP, Salim H (also known as Vadival Salim) and Pradeep were guilty of gang rape, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, wrongful confinement and using criminal force to outrage and disrobe the survivor.
The court further found them liable under Sections 66E and 67A of the Information Technology Act for recording and transmitting sexually explicit content of the assault.
The convicts will be sentenced on December 12.
Along with Dileep, the court also acquitted Charlie Thomas, Sanilkumar alias Mesthiri Sanil, and Sarath G Nair. Sanilkumar and Sarath were later added through a supplementary chargesheet, while another accused, Vishnu, had turned approver. Vipin Lal BL and Aneesh PK were pardoned and examined as prosecution witnesses. Advocate Pratheesh Chacko and his aide Raju Joseph had earlier been discharged.
The case dates back to February 17, 2017, when the actress was abducted en route to a film shoot in Thrissur and sexually assaulted in a moving vehicle. The attackers also filmed the assault. Within 24 hours, driver Martin Antony was arrested, followed by Suni and others in the days after. Suni remained in custody for over seven years before securing bail from the Supreme Court last year.
Dileep was arrested in July 2017 for allegedly conspiring in the assault, purportedly to seek revenge after the survivor informed his then-wife about an extramarital relationship. Two of his bail pleas were rejected before the Kerala High Court granted him bail in October 2017 after 83 days in custody.
The accused faced charges under IPC Sections 120B, 109, 366, 354, 354B, 357, 376D, 201 and 212 read with Section 34.
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