A trial court in Kerala on Monday framed charges against Mollywood actor Dileep and nine others accused in the case of alleged abduction and molestation of an actress in a moving car in the outskirts of Kochi on a 2017 February night.

All accused were present in the additional special sessions court in Ernakulam when the charges were framed against them and all have denied charges, agencies reported. The actress was molested as she was returning to her Kochi residence way past night from a location in neighbouring Trichur district where she was shooting for a Malayalam film. Her car was intercepted and she was dragged into another vehicle in which she was molested by a group of men even as the vehicle was being driven around. The entire act was filmed by the accused to blackmail her.

Dileep was subsequently arrested and arrayed as an accused in connection with offences under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and IT Act. The top court had directed that the trial in case be concluded expeditiously, preferably within six months from the date of the judgement.

A woman judge is hearing the case.

Last week, the Court had dismissed a plea filed by Dileep, seeking to exclude him from the list of accused. The court had also not allowed a plea by the actor to grant him 10 days time to file the appeal in a higher court in the light of the Supreme Court order in November 2019 that the trial should be completed in six months.

—India Legal Bureau