South Indian actress' kidnap case: Pulsar Suni still on the run, as suspicion of popular actor's involvement strengthens; Dileep reacts to fake news

It has come to light that a popular actor has been linked to the abduction of a popular South Indian actres, allegedly abducted and assaulted by a gang on the night of Friday, February 17, while she was returning from a shooting location in Thrissur to Kochi.

According to the police complaint registered by the actress, the gang was with her for over two hours inside a moving vehicle, trying to capture photos and videos to blackmail her.

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The news came to light the next morning, and as of now, five people, including Martin, and Manikandan, have been arrested on charges of kidnapping and harassing the actress. However, Sunil Kumar aka Pulsar Suni, who is said to be the main accused in the crime, has not been nabbed yet. Manikandan claimed that Sunil was the mastermind behind the entire incident while the others accompanied him as they were offered money for "some unspecified quotation job."

Read: Celebs support Malayalam actress; check how they reacted on social media

Latest developments in the case

Involvement of a popular actor?

Recently, one of Kerala's political leader, P C George, said that he believed that an actor was involved in the case and sought an investigation in the case by recording statements again from the actress, who claimed a quotation gang had kidnapped her.

A popular actor is said to be linked to the abduction of the actress. Recently, one of Kerala's political leader, P C George, said that he believed that an actor was involved in the case and sought an investigation in the case by recording statements again from the actress, who claimed a quotation gang had kidnapped her.

Dileep lashes out at media

Recently, it was reported that the Kerala Police had recorded the statement of an actor in connection with the case at his residence in Aluva. Soon, actor Dileep's name was linked up with the news and rumours started doing the rounds on social media defaming him. In response to it, Dileep has now lashed out at the media and netizens. "Nobody from the police questioned me and all the news spreading in my name are fake. My name has been dragged into this to create more controversies. The name of that young actor from Aluva should be brought out rather than speculating and connecting me with such news," he posted on his Facebook page.

Another accused taken into custody

The investigators have nabbed a person from the flat of a young actor-director in Kakkanad, Kochi. The detainee is believed to have harassed the actress in a moving car on Friday, and if he is proved to have any connection with the case, reports suggest that the police might also arrest the owner of the flat. 

"I was shocked to see that many raised their fingers at me. It's a fake news and I wonder how such reports are getting widely circulated. While we all anxiously await the inside story, it's heartbreaking to find my name being circulated as one of the culprits. Once I feel it's the right time, I will make an explanation in this regard," actor-director Siddharth Bharathan told Manorama News after rumours had it that an accused was arrested from his flat in Kochi.

Prime accused still missing; has strong links with Mollywood industry

Meanwhile, the prime suspect, Pulsar Suni, is still absconding even after five days of the mishap. Upon tracking the phone records of him, who already has a criminal background, the investigators have reportedly claimed that he had spoken to six prominent celebrities of Mollywood on the day of kidnapping the actress. It even includes a prominent film producer, whose number is said to be switched off since then.

Pulsar Suni's lookalike attacked online

Few netizens have been sharing the photos of a person named Passion Plus Riyaz, instead of Pulsar Suni. Actor Kishor Satya has come forward with a latest Facebook post on the confusion behind the identity of his friend, who also has close connection with actors Nivin Pauly, Vineeth Sreenivasan and Aju Varghese. Kishor also pointed out that Riyaz might be targeted as he is also the chairman of All Kerala Dileep Fans and Welfare Association.

Investigators to question the movie's crew

The officials are also expected to question the crew members of an upcoming movie, for which the actress was shooting in Thrissur. 

Mollywood protests against the incident

After the news of the actress broke out on Saturday, many celebrities came forward expressing their solidarity for the actress and anger against the miscreants. The celebrities had also conducted a protest in Kochi that was attended by Mammootty, Dileep, Innocent, Manju Warrier, Nivin Pauly, Geetu Mohandas, Aashiq Abu and Rima Kallingal, among many others.

The dreadful night

The actress, who is prominent in Malayalam movies, was allegedly assaulted by a gang while she was returning from the location to her residence in Kochi at around 10 pm on February 17. Later, she arrived the residence of an actor-director, who helped in filing a police complaint against the people who attempted to harass her.