Kerala police to book convict for naming survivor of 2017 actor gang rape case in video
Kerala police to investigate a video revealing the name of a survivor in the 2017 actress gangrape case, following a complaint from the survivor.
The Kerala police will register a case based on the complaint filed by the survivor in the 2017 actress gangrape case in connection with a video in which convict Martin Antony reveals her name and rules out the involvement of actor Dileep, officials said.
The survivor in the case is learnt to have intimated Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan about her reservations about the alleged video when she met him on Tuesday in connection with the Christmas - New Year celebrations organised by the State government. Directions have been issued from the CM’s office to the police to register a case and open an extensive investigation, an official said.
Antony, the second accused in the case, was among six persons found guilty by the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court last week for charges including gangrape, wrongful confinement and conspiracy. All six persons, including the first accused ‘Pulsar’ Suni, were sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment by the court. Dileep, who was the eighth accused in the case and facing allegations of orchestrating the attack as part of a personal grudge against the actress, was acquitted due to lack of evidence for conspiracy.
Police officials said that the video, in which Antony could be heard saying the survivor’s name and talking about the case, was old and purportedly shot when he got out on bail on the directions of the Supreme Court. At the time the video was shot, the trial in the case was still progressing.
In the video, which HT has seen, Antony claims that the case against Dileep was fabricated and that a conspiracy was hatched against the latter with the involvement of a few actors in the film industry.
The video is being shared widely on social media platforms. An official said on condition of anonymity that the case would be registered against those spreading the video on social platforms as it is punishable under Indian law to commit any act that leads to the revealing of the name of a survivor or victim in a rape case.
The survivor is learnt to have submitted to the police a bunch of links of social media accounts that have shared the video.