Malayalam actor Dileep on Monday accused some police officials and a section of the media of conspiring against him to implicate him in a case relating to the sexual assault of a South Indian actress in 2017, allegedly with the aim of destroying his career.
Shortly after he was acquitted in the case, Dileep claimed there had been a "real conspiracy" to frame him as an accused.
"It was done to destroy my career, image, and life in society," he told reporters soon after a local court acquitted him following a years-long legal battle.
Criticising his ex-wife and leading actress Manju Warrier, the Meeshamadhavan actor said the entire conspiracy against him began with her statement that there was a criminal conspiracy behind the assault on the survivor and that it should be investigated.
Without naming anyone, he alleged that a top woman police officer and a group of "criminal police" chosen by her to probe the case had acted against him.
Dileep accused them of fabricating a false story against him with the support of the prime accused in the case, who was also his co-inmate in jail. He further claimed that these police personnel, along with a section of the media, propagated this fabricated story through social media platforms.
"Today, that false narrative fabricated by the police was shattered in the court," the actor-producer added.
He thanked his family, lawyers, and fans who supported him throughout the years-long legal battle.
The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court on Monday acquitted Dileep in the sensational case.
However, the court found six others - including prime accused Sunil N.S., alias Pulsar Suni, who directly committed the crime - guilty. Apart from Dileep, the court acquitted three others in the case.
The verdict was pronounced by Ernakulam Principal Sessions Judge Honey M. Varghese, who concluded the hearing in the lengthy trial on November 25.
The assault on the multilingual actress, after the miscreants forced their way into the car she was travelling in and kept it under their control for two hours, had shaken the conscience of Kerala society.
According to the prosecution, several persons forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017, and later escaped in a busy area.
The ten accused who faced trial were Sunil, Martin Antony, Manikandan B., Vijesh V.P., Salim H., Pradeep, Charly Thomas, actor Dileep (real name P. Gopalakrishnan), Sanil Kumar alias Mesthri Sanil, and Sharath.
Police arrested the accused soon after the incident and filed the first charge sheet against seven persons in April 2017.
During further investigation, Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017, after the probe team found that the prime accused, Sunil, had allegedly sent a letter to him from jail.
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