Ernakulam (Kerala), Dec 8, 2025

In a dramatic conclusion to one of Kerala’s most sensational criminal trials, Malyalam actor Dileep was on Monday acquitted by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court in the 2017 actress abduction and sexual assault case.

In the charge sheet, there were 10 accused, and the Court sentenced the first six, while including Dileep, four others were acquitted.

The punishment for the six found guilty will be pronounced on December 12.

The prosecution had failed to establish the charge of criminal conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt.

The verdict brings to an end a nearly eight-year-long legal battle that had gripped the state and triggered widespread debate on power, justice and women’s safety in the Malayalam film industry.

Dileep, the eighth accused, had bee

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