#Kerala actress abducted, molested, photographed in moving car: Police arrest 3, main accused still on the run

Kerala, Feb 20: The Kerala police arrested three people accused of abducting and molesting a leading Malayalam actress in a moving car for two hours on Friday. Three days after the incident, a manhunt was launched to capture the main accused involved in the crime who was also a former driver of the actress. Soon after she complained about the nightmare she went through on Friday night, the police took the driver’s vehicle into custody and sent a team to search for at least six more people involved in the offense.

“We have definite leads about the remaining five,” inspector general of police Dinesh Kashyap said. “Some people have been taken into custody. We would be able to talk about their role in the incident only after a proper verification”, a top police officer said. An FIR against seven persons, including her car driver has been registered.

Expressing anger and disgust, Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan said, “Such an attack should not have happened against a woman and it is a matter of grave concern.’’

A 30-year-old Malayalam actress was allegedly molested for two hours by a gang of men, including her former driver, who forced their way into her car before while she was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi.

WHAT HAPPENED:

On Friday night, a gang of men hijacked the car of a leading Malayalam actress when she was returning home from a shoot in Ernakulam district in Kerala.

According to the reports, around 7 pm, her driver spoke to someone over the phone and even asked her if she was in a hurry to reach Kochi. The driver has been taken into custody.

About half-an-hour later, a van hit the rear end of her car in Athani (25 kilometres from Kochi) and when her driver got out to assess the damage, four men forced their way in and drove away with the actress.

For the next two hours, she was molested and photographed by the culprits involved in the crime.

Near two hours later, the culprits stopped the car at Palarivattom in Kochi, and drove away in the van.

“The assailants forcibly took her photographs. Two of the four men in the car are drivers who work in the film industry and she was familiar with them. One of them, Sunil, has a criminal record and was her driver until recently. Their motive seems to have been to fleece money from the actress by blackmailing her with the photographs.,” said IGP Vijayan.

WHO SAID WHAT:

Shashi Tharoor:
Terming the incident horrendous, Shashi Tharoor said, “The entire thing is horrific. I applaud her for the courage to fight back. Many people brush these kinds of things under the carpet. Our patriarchal society somehow managed to give the impression that the victim is responsible.”

Dulquer Salmaan posted on Facebook:
“I was hesitant to speak out about this incident yesterday out of respect for the victim of this travesty. It’s easy to just post something on social media, but I’m afraid it somehow becomes about yourself. This is so much more than all that. It’s something that sickens and frightens my core.”