Accused in 2017 actress assault case attempts suicide

One of the accused in the 2017 actress assault case tried to commit suicide, police said on Saturday.

Manikandan, the third accused in the case, was arrested on Friday night and booked for creating a nuisance after consuming alcohol, police said.

Thereafter, he was released on station bail after which he attempted to commit suicide by cutting the veins of his hands, an officer of Palarivattom police station said.

The incident occurred very close to the Palarivattom police station after he was released on bail, the officer said.

Locals and police officers immediately took him to the nearest hospital and his life was saved, the officer said.

“What is the exact reason behind his suicide attempt is not known,” he added.

Manikandan was later discharged from the hospital and sent with his family members, police said.

The suicide attempt by Manikandan comes in the wake of a Kerala court on Tuesday saying it will on December 8 pronounce judgement in the 2017 actress assault case in which actor Dileep is one of the 10 accused.

The actress-victim, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, was abducted and allegedly molested in her car for two hours by some persons who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area.

The entire act was filmed by those persons to blackmail the actress.

There are 10 accused in the case, including actor Dileep, and all of them, including prime accused Sunil N S also known as ‘Pulsar Suni’, are out on bail.

All 10 accused have to appear before the trial court on December 8 when the verdict will be pronounced.