Kochi: Actor Dileep, a key accused in the 2017 actress abduction case, suffered a jolt on Friday, when a trial court ruled that all the charges framed by the police based on the disclosure of a former friend of the actor, Balachandra Kumar, will stay.
Dileep approached the court with a petition to state that the charges against him in the wake of the disclosure of Kumar will not stick and Sarath, who is alleged to have destroyed crucial evidence had filed a petition seeking his discharge in the case, but that was not allowed and he too now becomes an accused in the case.
The court asked both Dileep and Sarath to appear before it on Monday as part of framing charges, and ordered that the trial in the case will resume on November 10.
It was Kumar who in December last year came out in the open that Dileep had planned to eliminate the investigating officers who had named him as an accused in the abduction case and it was Sarath who had given the visuals of the actress being harassed while being abducted in a car.
Reacting to the fresh directive of the court, Kumar said he is very happy and he knew the court will give a favourable order.
“This is because I have only spoken the truth as truth has only one face,” said Kumar.
But those close to the actor, like Saji Nandiyatu, said “The trial is only going to come up. All the evidences will be analysed threadbare and we are confident this is going to benefit Dileep as he will get more time to prove he is innocent.”
Dileep was in jail for several weeks in the actress abduction case in 2017 and later got bail.
A leading south Indian actress – who subsequently identified herself – had alleged that she had been abducted and sexually assaulted in 2017 by a gang of goons, who also filmed the assault to blackmail her.
After main accused Sunil was arrested and questioned, Dileep was accused of being the main conspirator in the case and arrested.
–IANS