Kerala’s former DGP R Sreelekha has admitted to doing a “few favours” for actor Dileep when he was in jail in 2017 after being arrested in the female actor abduction and sexual assault case.
Sreelekha served as the DGP in Aluva sub-jail when Dileep, the alleged chief conspirator and eighth accused in the actor abduction and assault case, was lodged there.
In an exclusive interview with Manorama News, the retired IPS officer said she offered the actor help out of sympathy after seeing Dileep’s condition in jail.
“What I saw in the jail was heart-rending. He was lying on a simple mat along with other prisoners. When I asked him to get up, he was shivering; he fell down as he tried to get up. He was in a very pathetic situation, unlike the actor we see on screen. I have a kind heart and I feel for anyone who suffers. I took him to the superintendent’s room. He was unable to eat or talk and so, I offered him tender coconut juice,” she said.
She further added that two mats, a blanket, and nutritional food were provided to the actor. She also said that Dileep’s ear balance problem was treated as well. “There were no other facilities given to him,” she said.
When asked if she would have been as sympathetic to any other ordinary prisoner, Sreelekha said that in a different instance, she had provided facilities for medical treatment for a prisoner (a commoner) who was beaten up by the police.
In 2017, when reporters raised a question regarding special favours provided for Dileep in jail, Sreelekha had denied it and said that the matter would be probed. During the recent interaction, she said those allegations were raised by the media before she actually saw Dileep’s condition and took pity on him.
Speaking about the female actor’s abduction case, Sreelekha, who was notably the first woman IPS officer in Kerala, said, “I know the story from media reports. I strongly stand by the survivor. The person who did this to her should be punished.”
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Meanwhile, Dileep and his associates are also being investigated for allegedly plotting to kill the officers who investigated the 2017 female actor abduction and assault case. They recently surrendered their phones as per a court order and according to an Omanorama report, the results of the forensic analysis of these phones have been submitted to the court.
The five-year-old case is being reinvestigated after new allegations were made by filmmaker Balachandra Kumar towards the end of 2021. The crime branch will have to submit a status report on its reinvestigation to the trial court by March 1.
For a full timeline of the female actor abduction and assault case, see here.