Even as new revelations are emerging in the case involving the alleged kidnap and assault of a woman actor, the survivor on January 10 put out a statement for the first time on her official Instagram page, expressing gratitude to those who have stood by her in the fight for justice.
Though she had issued statements earlier through the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), this is the first time she is commenting on the case through social media.
“This has not been an easy journey. The journey from being a victim to becoming a survivor. For five years now, my name and my identity have been suppressed under the weight of the assault inflicted on me. Though I am not the one who committed the crime, there have been attempts to humiliate, silence and isolate me. But at such times, I have had some who stepped forward to keep my voice alive. Now when I hear so many voices speak up for me, I know that I am not alone in this fight for justice,” she wrote.
The actor ended the post saying she will continue this journey “to see justice prevail, to get wrongdoers punished and to ensure no one else goes through such an ordeal again, I shall continue this journey.”
The actor has issued the statement at a time when the case is back in the limelight following the revelations made by film-maker Balachandrakumar, who claimed to be a friend of the accused actor Dileep and said that he had seen Sunilkumar alias ‘Pulsar’ Suni, first accused in the kidnap and assault case, at Mr. Dileep’s house when he had gone there for discussing a movie, which he was set to produce with him.
Mr. Dileep, the eighth accused in the case, had allegedly contracted Mr. Suni to abduct and assault the actor and record the act on video. Mr. Balachandrakumar alleged that Mr. Dileep had told him not to reveal the fact that he was seen with Mr. Suni.
He also accused Mr. Dileep of possessing the video clip of the sexual assault, which Mr. Suni had allegedly filmed, and playing it in the presence of others at his home. Another allegation was that Mr. Dileep had tried to influence Sagar Vincent, a crucial witness for the prosecution.
Mr. Vincent had turned hostile after initially confessing to having seen Mr. Suni visiting Mr. Dileep’s wife Kavya Madhavan’s shop in Kochi. Mr. Balachandrakumar also released a few voice clips to television channels, in which a man, whom he claims to be Mr. Dileep, can be heard making comments on the case.
The Crime Branch of the Kerala Police on Sunday registered yet another case against Mr. Dileep and five others based on a statement by Mr. Balachandrakumar that the actor had threatened police officers who were probing the 2017 case of sexual assault.
An audio clip handed over by Mr. Balachandrakumar to the probe team reportedly has details of the conversation Mr. Dileep had with the five others, in which there is a threat to harm Dy. SP Baiju Paulose in a lorry accident.
