A group of furious passengers allegedly objected to and stopped the screening of Malyalam actor Dileep's film on a state-run bus in Kerala. This comes after he was acquitted of all charges in the 2017 actress sexual assault case
Actor Dileep
A brawl erupted on a KSRTC bus running from Thiruvananthapuram to Kalpetta, after a group of women passengers protested against the screening of a film starring actor Dileep during the journey on Saturday. This comes amid the court verdict wherein the actor, accused in the 2017 Kerala actress assault case, was recently acquitted.
Women passengers stops screening of Dileep's film on Kerala bus
A group of women passengers reportedly protested against the screening of Dileep's film, citing the actor's association with the actress's assault case. Following the objection, the bus staff stopped showing the film.
However, the situation soon escalated when some male passengers intervened and spoke in support of the actor. This led to a heated argument on the bus. Lekshmi R Shekhar, a passenger on the bus, shared details of the incident with ANI, saying, "Yesterday, I was travelling from Kesavadasapuram to Adoor. My son and husband were with me. On that KSRTC bus, the film Parakkum Thalika, starring Dileep, was being played. The movie was played at a very loud volume. Watching and listening to that film, in the present circumstances, and having to endure it for a 2.5-hour journey on a KSRTC bus was extremely uncomfortable for me."
She added, "So I raised this issue with the conductor and asked that the movie be switched off. I also told him that otherwise I would get off at the next stop. Accordingly, I decided to get down at Vattappara. When we say we stand with the survivor, this is how we must act in practice. I asked all the passengers on the bus whether they were interested in watching this movie. Except for two people, all the women clearly said they were not interested in watching it."
Although Lekshmi's objection was supported by the other passengers, a couple of people opposed it. The opposers cited the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court verdict in the case.
Lekshmi shared, "Not only that, they all stood with me and told the conductor that the movie should be switched off. They said they were not interested in being forced to watch it, and therefore, it must be turned off. All of us said we stand with the survivor. Respecting the opinion of the majority, the conductor switched off the TV. After that, one or two people who appeared to be travelling after consuming alcohol created an issue, saying that the case has already been settled in court. But only a lower court has given a verdict in this matter; the case is still pending in higher courts. Until the survivor gets justice, every self-respecting woman must stand with her."
The incident was captured by a passenger, and the video has since gone viral on social media.
About Dileep's 2017 sexual assault case
For the unversed, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court acquitted Dileep and three others, while the court found six accused guilty, including prime accused Sunil NS, also known as Pulsar Suni, who directly carried out the assault. The six were sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in the 2017 actress assault case.
The case was regarding an actress who worked in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu films, who was allegedly abducted and molested inside her car by a group of men on the night of February 17, 2017.
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