Director P. Balachandrakumar
As the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court is set to deliver the verdict in the sensational case related to the alleged rape and abduction of a popular actor, two important individuals — former legislator P. T. Thomas and director P. Balachandrakumar — who played pivotal roles at different points during the eight‑year‑old case are no more.
The then Thrikkakara MLA, Mr. Thomas, was instrumental in uncovering the alleged crime after being one of the first persons to reach the survivor immediately after the incident on the night of February 17, 2017. Martin Antony, the survivor’s driver who has since been arraigned as an accused, had driven her to the house of actor‑director Lal in Thrikkakara after the alleged assault.
Kerala actor rape case: LIVE updates
A flummoxed Mr. Lal contacted producer Anto Joseph, who is known to have contacts in the police owing to his political background during his younger days. Mr. Joseph, who was close to Mr. Thomas and lived nearby, brought him along when he rushed to Mr. Lal’s house.
The survivor shared her ordeal with Mr. Thomas, who immediately rang the then Ernakulam Range Inspector General P. Vijayan from his phone and handed it over to her. Shortly thereafter, the Thrikkakara Assistant Commissioner rushed to the spot.
“When PT contacted me that night, he asked me to rush to Lal’s house saying that something similar to the Nirbhaya case in Delhi had happened. He had judged the gravity of the case straight away. He also spoke to the driver Martin and shared his suspicions about him with the police,” recollected a local reporter of a prominent regional daily who was the first media person to report the incident.
Later, Mr. Thomas testified in the case. He also faced what many people continue to believe was an attempt on his life when the tyres of his SUV, which had been serviced only three days earlier, were found tampered with in the same month the incident occurred. Mr. Thomas, 71, succumbed to cancer on December 22, 2021.
Mr. Balachandrakumar’s revelations were instrumental in the court permitting the investigation team to further probe the case in December 2021, even though the trial had commenced in January 2020. A friend‑turned‑foe of actor Dileep, the eighth accused in the case, he alleged that Dileep possessed the visuals of the alleged assault of the survivor. He further claimed that he had seen Dileep and some of his relatives watching the visuals while he was at Dileep’s residence to discuss a movie project.
Further, the Crime Branch registered a fresh case against Dileep and five others in January 2022 based on Mr. Balachandrakumar’s statement that Dileep had threatened to endanger police officers investigating the actor assault case. Apart from Dileep, his brother Anoop, brother‑in‑law Sooraj, Appu, Babu Chengamanad, and an unidentified person were the other accused. Following this, Dileep moved the High Court for anticipatory bail.
Later, Mr. Balachandrakumar was made an additional prosecution witness the actor assault case. Mr. Balachandrakumar, who directed the movie Cowboy, succumbed to kidney and heart‑related ailments on December 13, 2024.
Published – December 08, 2025 10:33 am IST
