KOCHI:
Malayalam star Dileep was arrested on Monday for the kidnapping and sexual assault of an actress in February.
He was arrested for his prima facie role in a conspiracy and to facilitate further investigation as well as evidence collections. He will be presented before the magistrate court on Tuesday.
Dileep was questioned last month for over 12 hours after he claimed he and a director were being blackmailed for 1.5 crores by the kidnappers, including the actress’ driver Pulsar Suni, the main accused. 
He was interrogated again on Monday and then arrested. Dileep’s restaurant Dhe Puttu was vandalised by ab angry mob in Kerala’s Kozhikode District.
On February 17, the actress, while travelling by road to Kochi for work, was held captive in a moving car for nearly two hours while four men molested her and also took photos on their cellphones. She was dumped near the house of a director, who called the police.
Six people, including Pulsar Suni, the driver she had sacked, were arrested. On June 29, the police took statements of Dileep and the director who had filed the blackmail complaint.
The actress had recently talked about legal action “against an actor” who she said had falsely suggested that she was friends with her former driver.
Suni’s second arrest had followed days after police recorded the statement of Dileep on his complaint alleging blackmail by a man, who claimed to be a friend of Suni. While being taken to the court from the jail, Suni told reporters that names of the “sharks” involved in the conspiracy behind the abduction of the actress would soon be revealed.
Police had questioned Dileep and his director friend Nadirshah for nearly 13 hours on 29 June in view of Suni’s revelations. Police had then said that if necessary, they would be called again for questioning. On 20 April, Dileep had alleged blackmail by a man, who claimed that he was a friend of ‘Pulsar Suni’ in the case.
Police had said they were also investigating the alleged conspiracy angle in the case. The actor had earlier said that he filed a complaint with the Director General of Police along with evidence of blackmailing, allegedly with the knowledge of ‘Pulsar’ Suni.
Meanwhile, the family of the actress expressed happiness over the outcome of the investigation. “We are happy with the outcome of the case. It shows the almighty’s touch in the case,” they said in a statement.
The actress and her family had maintained that they have full faith in the probe by the police despite voices being raised from various quarters seeking CBI probe into the investigation.
Women in Cinema Collective, an outfit of Malayalam film actresses, said they have full faith in the government and the state police which probed the case. They said their fight seeking justice for the victim was a question of their pride.
Some actors have come out expressing shock over the arrest of Dileep. Police protection has been provided to Dileep’s establishments including hotels and theatres.
BJP state chief Kummanam Rajasekharan alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s stand that there was no conspiracy angle in the case had led to the delay in the arrest in the case.
Youth outfits of various political parties, including the BJP, Congress and CPM staged protests against Dileep in various parts of the state. They also burned the effigies of the actor in various places.
The actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and allegedly molested inside her car for two hours by the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on 17 February night and later escaped in a busy area in Kochi.
