Kochi: In a new twist to the sensational actress attack case, the statements of Kavya Madhavan, wife of popular Malayalam actor and eighth accused Dileep, apparently revealed details of the caustic ties between her husband and the assault victim.
Kavya in her statement to the police had disclosed that Dileep had nursed a grudge against the young actress, who was brutally attacked in a moving car in Kochi on February 17.
According to the statement, accessed by Manorama News, Kavya said the victim had played a role in causing discord in Dileep's marital life with his first wife Manju Warrier, who is also a popular heroine in Malayalam cinema. Apparently, this had infuriated Dileep.
"She sent pictures of Dileep and me to the actor's former wife Manjur Warrier. She fabricated stories about us and talked about it to several people in the film industry," Kavya said.
Dileep had divorced Manju Warrier in 2015 and married Kavya in November, 2016. Kavya also claimed that she was not aware of the marital trouble in Dileep's life till very late.
"During the AMMA rehearsal camp in Kochi in 2013, she repeated such 'claims' and Dileep came to know about this via Bindu Panicker. After Dileep complained, actor Siddique gave a warning to the actress," Kavya said, adding that Dileep had later informed her about this.
Kavya's statements definitely support police's claim that Dileep had a grudge against the victim.
'Don't know Suni'
However, Kavya reiterated to the police that she did not know the main accused in the case Pulsar Suni, who along with his accomplices waylaid the victim and assaulted her in a moving car. Suni and his accomplices were arrested within a week after the crime.
“I don't know Pulsar Suni and don't know whether he had visited our home. One of the accused Vishnu had visited the Kakkanad office of our boutique Lakshya and asked for my phone number. But it was not given,” Kavya said.
Rimi Tomy called Kavya
Contrary to the police claims, Kavya said Dileep did not make any frequent calls before or immediately after the February 17 attack.
“Dileep came to know about the actress attack after producer Anto Joseph called him in the morning of February 18. The producer had called Dileep in the night but he returned the call the next day and got to know about the crime,” Kavya said.
“He then called the victim. However, she didn't take the call and Dileep spoke to her mother. Dileep assured all help to the family,” Kavya said she overheard this conversation.
"Later, singer-cum-anchor Rimi Tomy called me in person and informed me about the attack," she added.
Kavya does not implicate Dileep
However, her statements did not say Dileep had any role in the crime. She also supported Dileep's claim that he had immediately informed state police chief Loknath Behera after Suni tried to blackmail him.
February 17 actress attack case
The actress, who has also worked in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and assaulted inside her car for two hours on February 17 night in Kochi. Dileep was arrested on July 10 for plotting the attack and hiring goons to assault the actress and videotape the crime. Dileep is currently out on bail.
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