Exactly a year later, the trial of the Kerala actress abduction and kidnapping case in which superstar Dileep has been named as the eighth accused, is yet to begin.
The question that is uppermost in people’s minds is will Dileep walk free or be behind bars.
On February 17 last year, the victim was abducted while she was on her way to Kochi from her house in Thrissur.
Her driver allegedly joined hands with a group of criminals led by Pulsar Suni, who is the prime accused in the case, and drove her through the busy streets of the commercial capital of the state and reportedly abused her.
After two hours the victim was dropped off close to the home of director-actor Lal.
After she told Lal about what had happened to her, he called the police. The driver was first taken into custody and in a few days the rest of the gang, including Suni, was arrested.
But the twist in the tale came when superstar Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017, after two rounds of questioning. After spending 85 days in jail, he was granted conditional bail.
Since then the police probe team has been busy tying the loose ends in the now high profile case.
The trial court in December accepted the charge sheet that names a total of 12 persons, including Dileep as accused, while his former wife Manju Warrier, is a key witness.
The 650-page charge sheet includes secret depositions. Among the list of witnesses, are around 50 from the film industry.
Now that the police have given up trying to recover the footage of the alleged molestation, the date for the trial may be set soon.
