The complainant in the 2017 Kerala sexual assault case on Monday spoke up on social media for the first time about her “journey from being a victim to becoming a survivor”. The complainant, an actor, was allegedly kidnapped and sexually abused inside her car for two hours on February 17, 2017.
Malayalam actor Dileep is among the 10 accused persons in the case and is alleged to have been the mastermind of the assault. The accused persons had reportedly filmed the assault to blackmail the woman.
Dileep had been arrested in July 2017, but is currently out on bail after being in jail for three months.
“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,” woman wrote in an Instagram post on Monday. The woman said that her name and identity “have been suppressed under the weight of the assault”.
The complainant also alleged that she has been humiliated and silenced on many occasions.
“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,” she added.
Her post came a day after the Kerala Police’s Crime Branch registered a case against Dileep in connection with allegations that he conspired to kill an investigating officer in the sexual assault case.
The new case is based on a purported audio clip in which Dileep is heard asking some persons to “wait to see how the five investigating officers are going to suffer”.
Another person is reportedly heard saying that if a “truck is hitting Baiju Poulose [the deputy superintendent of police who probed the sexual assault case], we would have to see another Rs 1.50 crore”.
Filmmaker Balachandrakumar, who claimed that he was a friend of Dileep, released the audio clip. The clip was aired by Malayalam news channel Reporter TV. Last week, a trial court in Kochi had asked the police to file a report based on Balachandrakumar’s allegations by January 20.
The police have invoked sections pertaining to intimidation and criminal conspiracy. The others named as accused persons in the case are the Dileep’s brother Anoop, his brother-in-law Sooraj, an unidentified man that Balachandrakumar referred to as “VIP”, and two others.
Earlier this month, the woman had written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan about the tardy pace of the trial and the latest developments in the case. The Kerala government then constituted a new team to investigate the recent developments. The team will be headed by Additional Director General of Police Sreejith.
The Kerala government had filed a petition before the High Court in December, demanding that the judge presiding over the trial be replaced. The plea stated that it was aggrieved by the “biased, hostile and partisan” conduct of the trial court.
However, both the High Court and the Supreme Court rejected the petition.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!