Kochi: The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court on Friday rejected the petitions of actor Dileep and his friend Sarath, both accused in the 2017 actress assault case, to see the investigation report rejected.
Dileep, in his petition, argued that the revelations of director Balachandra Kumar in the report were false, and therefore asked the court to reject the remainder of it from impeding the case. However, the court rejected this on the basis that no new investigations were carried out following Balachandran’s revelations.
The report includes 300 documents and statements from 112 witnesses. Meanwhile, the investigation team has stated that there was significant evidence to conclude that actor Dileep, the eight accused in the case, destroyed key evidence. According to the investigation team, Balachandran was present when Sarath brought the footage of the actress being attacked to Dileep’s house.
The team also informed the court that there are also WhatsApp messages and digital evidence to back Balachandran’s claims. The court will hear the new charge against the two on October 31.
Both are to appear before the court on the day. The 2017 actress assault case refers to the abduction and sexual assault of a leading South Indian actress in Kochi. In February 2017, the actress was kidnapped while returning home from a shoot and subjected to sexual assault by a gang of men. Actor Dileep was subsequently arrested (July 2017) after it emerged that he had links with the main accused. He was released on bail in October 2017.
