Kerala actor assault case: Pulsar Suni and 5 others sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment; Verdict will send wrong signal, says Prosecutor

Others sentenced include Martin Antony, B Manikandan, V P Vijeesh, H Salim alias Vadival Salim and Pradeep.

Thiruvananthapuram: All the six found guilty in the 2017 actor abduction and gang rape case of Kerala were sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment on Friday.

Actor Dileep and three others were acquitted by the court in the case on December 8. 

Ernakulam principal sessions judge Honey M Varghese, who delivered the judgment, cautioned the media and the lawyers against distorted reporting of the court proceedings and also warned that distorted reporting that maligns the judicial system could even invite action. The court also expressed displeasure over making  critical opinions about the verdict even before the final order was out.

The court said that public debates over the case did not influence the verdict. However, the comparatively young age of those found guilty and their families were taken into consideration as well were below 40. 

Those sentenced are Sunil N S alias Pulsar Suni, Martin Antony, B Manikandan, V P Vijeesh, H Salim alias Vadival Salim and Pradeep. 

Apart from 20 years imprisonment for gang rape, all were sentenced in other offences too. But they need to undergo all the sentences concurrently only.  The judicial remand period already undergone by the six will be also adjusted in the sentence. All were also imposed with a fine of Rs 50,000 each while the Pulsar Suni was imposed with additional fine under the IT Act.

The court ordered a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the victim, a popular south Indian actress. The court also directed that the memory card containing the video of the crime should be kept in safe custody to avoid leakage. 

Apart from Dileep, Charlie Thomas, Sanil Kumar alias Mesthiri Sanil and G Sarath were acquitted on Monday. They were accused of helping the accused and tampering with the evidence.

Verdict unsatisfactory: Prosecutor

Special prosecutor in the case Ajakumar said that even as the maximum punishment of life-term was sought, only the minimum punishment was given. "The verdict is unsatisfactory. It will send a wrong message to society. After reviewing the judgment in detail II will recommend to the government to file an appeal," he said.

During the hearing over the quantum of sentence those found guilty pleading for relaxations by citing their families plights, including aged parents and children, as well as the jail term they already undergone while on judicial remand. But the court cited that the case pertained to a woman's trauma and dignity. 

The actress was abducted and sexually assaulted by a gang led by Pulsar Suni in a moving car at Kochi on February 17, 2017. The next day she lodged a complaint and within weeks all the gang members were held. Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017 and he was in remand for nearly three months until he got bail.

The prosecution case was that Dileep hired the gang to attack the actress as she earlier informed Dileep's then wife Manju Warrier about Dileep's relationship with actress Kavya Madhavan. Dileep and Manju got divorced in 2015 and Dileep then married Kavya, who also got divorced from her first husband.

The court only found the six directly involved in the abduction and rape guilty.

They were found guilty under IPC 120 B for criminal conspiracy, IPC 340 for wrongful confinement, IPC 354 for assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, IPC 366 for kidnapping or abducting a woman to compel marriage or force illicit intercourse, IPC 354 B for using criminal force on a woman with the intent to disrobe her or compel her to be naked and IPC 376 D for gang rape.