Breaking the silence, the female actor who was abducted and sexually assaulted in February 2017 has publicly opened up for the first time, through her official social media account. In the Instagram post, the survivor extended her gratitude to all those who have supported her.
The actor’s earlier statements were made through the official page of Women In Cinema Collective (WCC), an organisation dedicated to women working in the Malayalam film industry.
Posting a statement directly from her personal account, it read, “This has not been an easy journey. The journey from being a victim to becoming a survivor. For 5 years now, my name and my identity have been suppressed under the weight of the assault inflicted on me.”
She adds, “Though I am not the one who has committed the crime, there have been many 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.”
“Now I hear so many voices speak up for me I know that I am not alone in this fight for justice. 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. For all those who are standing with me- a heartfelt thank you for your love,” she concluded.
The survivor’s post has been widely shared by members of WCC, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Anjali Menon, Geethu Mohandas, Rima Kallingal, and other artists like Prithviraj Sukumaran and Ashiq Abu, among several others, expressing their solidarity.
The survivor’s statement was made, following some major groundbreaking developments in the case. While the five-long year case was headed towards closure, in December 2021, filmmaker Balachandra Kumar made some revelations, which gave room to the beginning of a new probe, initiated by Kerala police.
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Kumar, who claimed to be a former friend of Dileep, said that the actor had watched the video of the sexual assault at his house and knew Pulsar Suni, the other accused. He had also influenced some of the significant witnesses in the case, who had turned hostile during the trial.
Dileep stands as the eighth accused in the case, where a female Malayalam actor was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving car in Kochi, in February 2017.