Malayalam actor Kunchacko Boban, one of the witnesses in the Kerala actor assault case, failed to appear for the witness examination in the Ernakulam court for a second time. The actor has informed the court that he is abroad and hence cannot appear before court.
It was on February 29 that Justice Honey M Varghese, the presiding judge of the additional special sessions court in Ernakulam, issued a bailable arrest warrant against the actor for non-appearance. Following this, the court had directed Kunchacko Boban to appear on March 4. But on Wednesday, he informed the court formally that he would have to skip the trial again.
The court however examined singer Rimi Tomy, another important witness in the case.
Rimi Tomy was one of the witnesses who had given statements against actor Dileep who is accused of masterminding the assault on a leading female actor of Malayalam film industry.
The abduction and sexual assault of a leading female actor in Malayalam had rocked the state in 2017. It has been alleged that actor Dileep, eighth accused in the case, masterminded the crime to take revenge on the survivor for disclosing his relationship with another actor Kavya Madhavan (his present wife) to his former wife Manju Warrier.
According to prosecution counsel, Rimi, the 36th witness in the case, stuck to her previous statement to the police without any change.
The court has also asked actor Kunchacko Boban to appear in court again on March 9.
Rimi Tomy's earlier statement to police:
"I have been a singer for the past 20 years. I have sung in more than 100 films. It was for Honey Bee 2, in which the assaulted actor also acted, that I sung last.
I anchor shows on Asianet and Mazhavil Manorama. I was first introduced to Dileep in 2002, as part of his film Meesa Madhavan. The same year, ahead of the film's release, I went on a Europe trip with Dileep and Kavya Madhavan.
In 2004, I have also taken part in Dileep's show held in the UAE.
In 2010, I had gone to America with Dileep, Kavya, the assaulted actor and Nadhirshah and the show spanned across days. Kavya Madhavan's and the assaulted actor's parents and my mother were also there along with us.
At that point, all of us knew that Dileep and Kayva were close and were in a relationship.
Since Kavya's parents were strict, Kavya and Dileep did not get a chance to spend time together. Our accommodation was arranged in such a way that there were separate rooms for everyone. On the last day of the show, Kavya took permission from her parents and came over to the assaulted actor's room for a sleepover. I was also there. Around 1 am, Dileep came to our room and he and Kavya were together.