'Shocked' At Actor Dileep's Arrest, Says Kerala Actress Who Was Assaulted

Thiruvanathapuram: The Kerala actress who was abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving car in February this year, said today that she has not named anyone in the case out of "personal enmity" and was shocked by arrest of superstar Dileep in the case. Without naming the actor, with whom she has acted in several films, she said in a statement that she had not made accusations against him to the police.

"I have not tried to make anyone an accused because of personal enmity or anything else. I have not informed anyone of any name specifically,' the actress said, admitting that "it's true that we've had some personal problems and we moved away from our friendship."  

She has also denied media reports of financial deals with Dileep that went sour, offering to assist in any investigation on this. "If the person is alleging that he has been trapped in a false case, I hope the truth will come out soon. If this person has done wrong, or if this person is innocent, either ways, the truth should be revealed soon," she said the statement, which she said she was writing because she is "not in a frame of mind" to speak to TV channels.

Dileep has denied the police's allegation that he blamed the actress for his first marriage falling apart and so contracted her former driver to assault her, videotape the attack and take nude photos.

The 48-year-old actor, considered by many to be Kerala's number 3 superstar after Mammootty and Mohanlal, has been booed by crowds every time he has appeared in public since his arrest on Monday evening, signalling a steep decline in popularity.  

Sent to jail for 14 days, he is now in the custody of the police for two days as they take him to different places to collect evidence. On Thursday cops took him to three places in Thrissur - two hotels and a sports academy- and at each he faced an angry crowd shouting slogans. Yesterday they took him to two places in Ernakulam.

The main accused in the case, Pulsar Suni, the actress' former driver, has alleged that he met the actor in several places to plan the attack on her. On February 17, she was on her way to Kochi when she was sexually assaulted by at least four men, who also recorded the attack.