Actress assault case: Kerala police serves notice to film director to record statement

Kochi: Following a trial court's order directing a probe into the recent revelations in the actress abduction case, Kerala Police on Friday asked film director Balachandrakumar to record his statement.

As per reports, the police probe team served a notice to Kumar to appear before the magistrate on January 12.

The accused, Dileep, an actor himself, had allegedly seen the footage of the sexual assault at his home, film director Balachandrakumar told a Malayalam TV channel in an interview last week. Dileep, the director alleged, had a "close friendship" with the prime accused in the case, Sunil Kumar, alias Pulsar Suni, and got access to the video after he was released on bail.

Kumar also claimed that the visuals were handed over to the actor by a VIP, and he was privy to all this.

But Dileep downplayed his utterances saying, "He (Kumar) was using his old enmity to settle scores with me." He said Kumar was upset with him after he refused to take up his project.

When contacted, Kumar said he delayed his disclosure because he feared for his life and denied any blackmail tactics.

Till now, only the trial court has seen the said visuals.

Soon after Kumar's disclosure became public, the Kerala government on Wednesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking six more months to complete the trial in the case.

The apex court had in September granted time till February 16, 2022, to complete the trial, the third time the top court granted an extension.

The actress was abducted and assaulted in a moving car in Kochi on February 17, 2017, and Dileep was arrested in July 2017 in connection with the case. He spent several weeks in jail before securing bail.

He has been named as a conspirator in the case, being charged with "revenge crime".