Special Public Prosecutor VN Anilkumar, who has been representing the survivor in the actor assault case of Kochi, resigned on Wednesday, 29 December, nearly a year after he was appointed.
Anilkumar is the second prosecutor to resign in this high profile case where actor Dileep has been accused of masterminding a dastardly crime. It was a year ago that the former SPP, A Suresan, resigned, saying that he was disappointed with how things panned out and alleged that Judge Honey Verghese had a biased approach in the case.
Anilkumar is a senior advocate who was CBI prosecutor for several years.
Though the exact reason behind Anilkumar’s resignation is unclear, sources told TNM that he had an argument with the judge and left the courtroom on Wednesday.
Anilkumar’s resignation comes after two important developments in the case. The prosecution had approached the Kerala High Court on 27 December against an order by Judge Honey Verghese disallowing the re-examination of certain witnesses.
The prosecution told the High Court that since they were all in the pursuit of truth, it made no sense to deny re-examination citing technicalities. The petition also pointed out that only Dileep had objected to the re-examination, while the other 8 accused did not raise any objection.
The second important development is a series of allegations levelled by a man named Balachandra Kumar.
Recently, Balachandrakumar, who said he was working with Dileep for a new movie, revealed that he had certain incriminating evidence against the actor. This included the allegation that Dileep had a copy of the video of the actor being assaulted in a moving car in Kochi more than four years ago.
He also said that he witnessed close interactions between Dileep and Pulsar Suni, the main accused in the case. In an interview with TNM, Balachandrakumar said he had some audio clips that could prove his allegations.
Based on his complaint, the Kerala police approached the court asking for re-investigation in the case.
In December 2020, the Kerala High Court rejected a plea by the survivor actor as well as the state government to transfer the trial to a different court, alleging that the judge who was hearing the case, Honey M Varghese, was discriminatory. Suresan had alleged that the court is highly biased and that it is detrimental to the judicial system.
The assault of the woman actor happened in February, 2017, in a car in Kochi, by a gang of men. Pulsar Suni, who was identified, was arrested days later. Months later, actor Dileep was also arrested. The police charge sheet said that Dileep had masterminded the attack, paying Pulsar Suni to record a video of the assault and give it back to him. Dileep was however released on bail a few months later.
(Published in arrangement with The News Minute)
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