KOCHI: The trial court has granted bail to Pulsar Suni, the first accused in the actress assault case. Bail is granted with strict conditions. The court has put forward conditions such as not to leave Ernakulam district, not to influence the witnesses, not to talk to the media, to use only one SIM and not to contact the accused or the witnesses. Two sureties and a bond of Rs.1 lakh must be furnished. The court also directed that the rural police should ensure Suni’s security.

There are 10 accused in the actress assault case. Up to eight accused have been charged, including the crime of gang rape, which carries a life sentence. Conspiracy against others is a crime. There are 261 witnesses. 1600 documents were handed over in the case.

It is expected that the Sessions Court verdict in the case will be within three months. Witness examination and argument before Judge Honey M Varghese was completed yesterday. The defense has an opportunity to present its final arguments from the 26th of this month.

On February 17, 2017, the young actress was attacked while travelling from Thrissur to location in Ernakulam. Suni and his team got into the actress’s car by creating a fake car accident. Martin, the driver assigned to pick up the actress, also joined the attackers. He rode around with the actress for more than an hour in Kochi area and brutally molested her. The footage was captured on a mobile phone. Finally, they left the vehicle and fled. The accused got stuck when actress went ahead with the case. When Suni came to surrender in Ernakulam court, the police caught him dramatically. When he ran into the court hall, he was subdued under the leadership of Inspector Ananthalal.

It was only after weeks that the police got a hint about actor Dileep’s role in the incident. Dileep was arrested on July 10, 2017. After spending 86 days in jail, Dileep got bail. In November 2017, the trial was delayed due to the demand for a woman judge in the charge-sheet case. The trial began on January 30, 2020. Director Balachandra Kumar came up with the revelation when the testimony was about to be completed. With this, the re-investigation has started. A second charge sheet was submitted and the trial was repeated. The four-and-a-half-year long trial was completed last week.