Kerala actor assault, abduction case: A timeline of events involving Dileep, Pulsar Suni, and the 2017 crime that shook Malayalam cinema
Nearly nine years after the shocking incident, the long-running trial, with Dileep among the accused, approaches its final judgment on December 8
How the case unfolded over the years
The roots of the case date back to February 17, 2017, when a noted Malayalam actress was allegedly kidnapped while on her way from Thrissur to Kochi and attacked inside a moving vehicle. Police wasted no time in making arrests in the case, taking several people connected with the incident into custody within days. The driver and some accomplices were the first to be taken into custody.
Within a short period, the police zeroed in on the prime accused, Pulsar Suni. And as the investigation progressed, fresh layers of this alleged conspiracy began to unravel. A letter sent by Suni from jail allegedly demanding compensation for committing the act, created a strong suspicion. This finally culminated into the arrest of actor Dileep on July 10, 2017, making him the eighth accused in the conspiracy.
Although the trial had started on March 8, 2018, it soon escalated into one of Kerala’s most complicated legal battles. Over time, changes in prosecution teams, retraction of multiple witnesses, and heated disputes over evidence-especially regarding the controversial issue of access to a memory card containing the assault video while under court custody-considerably delayed the proceedings.
The court, in all, examined 261 witnesses and went through 142 pieces of material evidence, underlining the magnitude of the investigation. The case also brought about an industry-wide introspection, unraveling deep-rooted structural flaws in terms of safety and gender bias in Malayalam cinema. It accelerated the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) and the Hema Committee to study workplace safety for women.
The case stands as a landmark chapter in the fight against exploitation in the film industry as the court is preparing to pronounce its verdict on December 8, 2025. For the survivor, the judgment would bring a long-awaited moment of closure; for the industry, it remained a reminder of the need for accountability and reform.
