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This special report details the abduction and sexual assault of a prominent Malayalam actress in 2017. The programme outlines the police investigation, which alleged a criminal conspiracy involving a leading actor and other industry figures. It highlights the prosecution's arguments regarding motive, personal vendetta, and evidence such as phone records and witness testimonies. The report also discusses the legal proceedings, the turning hostile of key witnesses, and the broader impact on the film industry, including the formation of safety collectives.
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00:00On the night of February 17, 2017, a car was making its way from Trishoor to Kochi.
00:23Inside, a prominent Malayalam actress sat quietly, unaware that her life was about to change forever.
00:34What happened next would send shockwaves across Kerala and ignite one of the most controversial legal battles in Indian cinema history.
00:45I'm Anjali Istawal and in this show, Postmortem, we put the spotlight on crimes that shock us, yet make us want to know more and more.
00:57So at around 9pm, the actress's car was intercepted by a group of men.
01:03They forced her to let them in and drove off into the night.
01:07For hours, she was held captive, subjected to unimaginable trauma.
01:13The attackers not only assaulted her, but filmed the entire ODE, threatening to release the footage unless she remained silent.
01:24Eventually, the survivor was let off near the home of a film director.
01:28Shaken but determined, she managed to reach out for help.
01:33The police were contacted and within hours, a case was registered.
01:38The details were harrowing, a coordinated abduction, sexual assault and the chilling use of technology to terrorise the victim.
01:48As news of the crime spread, outrage erupted in the state.
01:53The public demanded answers.
01:55Who were these men?
01:57What could drive them to commit such an act?
01:59But the turning point came just two days later.
02:05While addressing a solidarity gathering for the survivor, actor Manju Warrior, a close friend of the survivor and famous actor Dilip's ex-wife, alleged.
02:18There has clearly been a criminal conspiracy behind this crime.
02:22Now, behind the scenes, whispers began to circulate about a bigger conspiracy.
02:29One that would soon implicate one of the most powerful figures in the Malayalam film industry.
02:36This statement of Manju Warrior is widely believed to have prompted Kerala society to view the case from a different angle.
02:44Suggesting that the incident involved more than just deduction and assault and was pre-planned.
02:51Industry bigwigs like Mohanlal and Mahmoudi, as well as Dilip, were present at that solidarity event.
03:01Over the next few days, the investigator would unravel a web of connections, revealing not just the identities of the perpetrators,
03:11but also the dark underbelly of power, jealousy and revenge that had led to this night of horror.
03:18The statement made by Manju Warrior was a turning point for this investigation.
03:26This is claimed by the actor Dilip himself also.
03:30The man once famous as a jananayak, who became key accused and alleged mastermind.
03:36After his acquittal on December 8th, 2025, Dilip accused his former wife for orchestrating the whole investigation and called it a witch hunt.
03:48Alleging that there was indeed a criminal conspiracy in the case, Dilip told reporters.
03:54The conspiracy against me began the moment Manju stated that the criminal conspiracy behind the incident must be investigated.
04:03A senior officer at that time, along with a team of criminal-minded police personnel chosen by them, orchestrated this action against me.
04:11For this purpose, they supported the main accused in the case and the co-accused, who were lodged in prison with him.
04:18And together, this police team created a fabricated story.
04:21Then, with the help of certain media organizations and a few journalists who were ready to support them,
04:27this fabricated narrative was widely circulated through social media.
04:31Today, in court, this fake story created by the police team has collapsed.
04:35The real conspiracy in this case was to make me the accused to destroy my career, my image and my life in society.
04:45The Kerala police launched an immediate manhunt and within days, they identified six men involved in the abduction and sexual assault.
04:56The ringleader, a man known as Pulsar Suni, quickly became a central figure in the investigation.
05:02As police interrogated the suspects, they uncovered a chilling detail.
05:08The attack had been recorded on a mobile phone and the footage was used to threaten the survivor.
05:15As the investigation deepened, a more disturbing picture emerged.
05:20Police began to suspect that the attack was not a random act, but a carefully orchestrated conspiracy.
05:27Rumors circulated about a motive rooted in the Malayalam film industry's inner circles.
05:35Jealousy, revenge and professional rivalry.
05:39The name of actor Dilip surfaced as the alleged mastermind behind the plot.
05:44The so-called Janapurian icon or the people's hero was suddenly a criminal suspect.
05:51Investigators alleged that Dilip harboring resentment towards the survivor due to her involvement in his breakup with his wife and actress,
06:01Manju Warrior, had conspired with the attackers to carry out the assault.
06:06The probe widened, uncovering a network of accomplices, including associates and hired hands, all allegedly linked to Dilip.
06:17But how did the police even suspect a towering figure of Malayalam cinema?
06:23It all began with a snitch.
06:25The cellmate of the man who executed the crime.
06:29He revealed details that led police to Dilip.
06:37In April 2017, the police, under tremendous pressure and scrutiny, filed their first charge sheet in the case.
06:45The charge sheet named Palsar Suni and six others.
06:49Palsar Suni, the ringleader of this crime, worked as a driver within the Malayalam film industry and was known for his connections with various actors.
06:58In interviews, while on bail, Suni described himself not as a criminal, but as a professional who was just doing his job.
07:07Offering a chilling glimpse into the mind of a remorseless contract criminal.
07:12Part of the notorious quotation gang industry of Kerala.
07:17In June, Sunil's cellmate leads the police to more evidence.
07:22And police uncovers a letter written by him to Dilip asking him for money.
07:27And also, some audio clips were uncovered.
07:30All these point towards the involvement of Dilip.
07:34In July 2017, after months of surveillance and evidence gathering, Dilip is arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy, abduction and other related offences.
07:46The stage was now set for a legal battle that would captivate Kerala and the nation.
07:52The prosecution in the case submitted that crime was a pre-planned contract or quotation job, as it is called there, orchestrated by Dilip due to a personal vendetta against the survivor.
08:09They sought to link Dilip to the abduction and the sexual assault through circumstantial evidence, witness testimonies, financial transactions and digital records.
08:21Though the court ultimately found this evidence insufficient to prove the conspiracy charge.
08:27The prosecution's case aimed to establish a clear chain of events and connections.
08:32How? We're going to tell you.
08:34First, motive.
08:35Personal revenge.
08:36The prosecution argued that Dilip held a deep grudge against the survivor for allegedly revealing details of his extramarital affair with actor Kavya Madhavan to his then-wife Manju Warrior.
08:52This was in 2012.
08:54Now, this betrayal and the desire to humiliate and isolate the survivor formed the motive of the attack,
09:01which the prosecution claimed was planned with the intent to defame and blackmail the actress who's the survivor.
09:08During the attack, the survivor recognised Pulsar Suni and confronted him.
09:14Pulsar Suni revealed receipt of quotation or contract for this crime.
09:19The survivor herself stated in her initial statement that Pulsar Suni told her he had to record the entire assault to deliver it to his employers.
09:29The prosecution argued that this proved the crime was not random, but a paid job or a contract job.
09:37Now, how was the link to Dilip established?
09:40To establish a direct link between Dilip and Pulsar Suni, prosecution asserted that Dilip and Pulsar Suni knew each other, a claim which Dilip has consistently denied.
09:52To counter Dilip, the prosecution presented evidence.
09:56What was the evidence?
09:57Well, firstly, meetings.
09:59Multiple witnesses, including a director, testified to seeing Pulsar Suni near Dilip's residence and on film sets in late 2016 and early 2017.
10:11Phone location data and selfies were used to corroborate their presence at the same venues.
10:16What is the second way that was used?
10:20Payments.
10:21The prosecution alleged a financial trail, including a cash withdrawal from Dilip's production company in 2015,
10:29followed by a deposit into Suni's mother's account, which they claimed were initial payments for the contract.
10:36What else?
10:37The jail correspondence.
10:39A crucial piece of evidence was a letter Suni allegedly wrote to Dilip from jail.
10:45We told you about that earlier as well.
10:47This letter was demanding the balance of the 1.5 crore rupees quotation amount.
10:53The prosecution argued that subsequent phone calls between Dilip's manager, his friend, Nader Shah, and a jailmate of Suni, who later became an approver,
11:05further corroborated this link and attempts to suppress the information.
11:10There were also voice recordings that the witness director, Balichandra Kumar, provided.
11:14These voice recordings allegedly captured Dilip and his associates discussing the case and seemingly confirming that Dilip had a copy of the sexual assault video.
11:27These recordings also suggested a conspiracy to intimidate the police officers who were investigating this matter.
11:34The prosecution contended that Dilip and his team created a false alibi, including faked hospital admission records for the night of the crime,
11:46to mislead the investigators about his location on the night.
11:51They also accused Dilip and others of destroying key evidence, such as the original mobile phone which was used to record the assault.
12:01That mobile phone has never been recovered.
12:04Ultimately, while the prosecution presented extensive circumstantial evidence,
12:13the trial court found it insufficient to prove the conspiracy charge against actor Dilip beyond a reasonable doubt,
12:21pleading to his acquittal.
12:23What weakened the prosecution's case significantly were the witnesses, who fell like dominoes.
12:30A significant number of prosecution witnesses, reportedly as many as 28, turned hostile,
12:38meaning they retracted or significantly altered the statements they had initially given to the police during the investigation.
12:47These initial statements were crucial to the prosecution's case in establishing the alleged conspiracy and motive against Dilip.
12:57The shift in testimonies was widely viewed as a major blow to the prosecution and raised significant concerns about the influence of power within the Malayalam film industry
13:11and potential witness tampering.
13:15Several prominent figures from the film industry and individuals connected to the case were among those who turned hostile.
13:23Both had initially told the police that Dilip was angry with the survivor for informing his then-wife Manju warrior about his alleged extramarital affair with Kavya Mathwan.
13:41They also stated that Dilip had openly threatened the survivor at a rehearsal camp in Kochi in 2013,
13:51with Bhama even mentioning a threat to set fire to her.
13:56In court, however, they denied witnessing any such animosity or threats or knowing anything about the conflict.
14:03Another witness that turned hostile was actor Edavela Babu.
14:11As the then-General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, or AMMA,
14:17he had initially stated to police that the survivor filed a complaint against Dilip for sabotaging his film opportunities.
14:26But in court, he retracted this.
14:28Another actor, Bindu Panikar, she had initially acknowledged being aware of the conflict between the survivor and Dilip.
14:39A fact she learned from both the survivor and Kavya Mathwan, the current wife of Dilip.
14:46During the trial, she denied this knowledge completely.
14:52More witnesses from hotel and hospital staff turned hostile.
14:57Witnesses who were outside the film industry, they also changed their statements.
15:02Hotel employee Shirley Ajit, who had earlier placed the crime accused, Palsa Sunni,
15:08at the same hotel as Dilip during a film shoot, retracted her statement.
15:16Doctors and staff from the Anwar Memorial Hospital,
15:19who were connected to the production of allegedly false hospital records to provide Dilip an alibi,
15:28also turned hostile.
15:32One key exception was Sagar Vincent, an employee at Kavya Mathwan's clothing store.
15:38He initially turned hostile, denying that Palsa Sunni had visited the store to allegedly hand over the video of the assault.
15:47However, after an audio clip surfaced, suggesting he was offered a bribe to change his testimony,
15:54he later admitted in court that his initial retraction was false and that he had lied,
16:01resulting in him no longer being considered a hostile witness.
16:05But that wasn't enough.
16:08As a consequence of witnesses turning hostile,
16:11a significant challenge was created for the prosecution
16:14in providing the conspiracy charge against Dilip.
16:20While turning hostile doesn't automatically mean the prosecution loses the case,
16:26it severely undermines the credibility of the initial police investigation
16:31and the chain of circumstantial evidence.
16:33The phenomena of so many witnesses turning hostile was widely seen as a reflection
16:40of the powerful influence Dilip wielded within the film industry
16:45and the difficulties the survivor faced in her fight for justice.
16:51While this case exposed the deeply misogynistic mindset of the Kerala film industry,
16:57it also left significant impact.
17:00The case reshaped the conversation around safety, accountability and systemic reform
17:07in the Malayalam film industry.
17:11It led to the formation of the Women in Cinema Collective or the WCC
17:16and prompted the Kerala government to appoint the Hema Committee,
17:21highlighting risks faced by the women and calling for industry-wide reforms.
17:27The eight-year saga remains a watershed moment,
17:32underscoring the intersection of celebrity, crime and accountability in Indian cinema.
17:38The actor assault case involving Dilip had a profound and lasting impact on Malayalam cinema,
17:47primarily by exposing deep-rooted systemic issues,
17:52triggering intense public debate and leading to significant institutional changes,
17:58including the formation of Women in Cinema Collective.
18:01In the immediate aftermath of the 2017 incident,
18:07a group of women actors, directors and technicians formed the Women in Cinema Collective
18:14to advocate for gender justice, safety and accountability in the industry.
18:20This was a watershed moment,
18:22providing a platform to raise issues that were previously swept under the rug.
18:27The WCC's demands for a safer working environment
18:33led the Kerala government to constitute the Justice Hema Committee.
18:37This was to study the working conditions for women in the industry.
18:42The committee's 2024 report, though heavily redacted,
18:46confirmed widespread sexual abuse and the existence of an all-male power group,
18:53sparking further conversations and calls for reform.
18:57The case sharply divided the Malayalam film industry and its audiences as well,
19:04with many expressing solidarity with the survivor,
19:09with hashtags like Awalkoppam or WeStandWithHerCampaign,
19:13and others supporting Dilip.
19:16This division highlighted internal conflicts within powerful film bodies like the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists,
19:28which faced heavy criticism for its handling of the issue and their initial support for Dilip.
19:35It also set up some legal precedents and guidelines.
19:40The controversial aspects of the trial, such as the illegal accessing of the memory card containing the assault visuals
19:48while it was in court custody, prompted a high court probe,
19:53and the formulation of new guidelines for handling electronic evidence in sexual assault cases
19:59to protect the survivors' privacy and dignity.
20:03However, the acquittal of Dilip on 8 December left the industry divided,
20:09with debates about justice, accountability, and the effectiveness of reforms continuing.
20:15Now, despite the verdict, the case remains, as we told you, a watershed moment
20:20that transformed the industry, prompting ongoing discussions about gender, power, and need for change.
20:28That's all we have for you in today's edition of Postmortem.
20:32Thanks for watching.
20:33Stay tuned to India Today for more news and updates.
20:36Stay tuned to India Today for more news and updates.
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