Uma Thomas says her husband was pressured not to testify in actor rape and abduction case

Thrikkakara MLA Uma Thomas said that her late husband and former MLA P.T. Thomas had faced pressure from various corners against giving his statement in the actor rape and abuse case..

Talking to reporters ahead of the verdict in the case here on Monday (December 8, 2025), Ms. Thomas said she gave only a 50–50 chance that justice would be served and that no prominent personalities involved in the case would be spared. She said she had spoken with the survivor, who sounded tense about the verdict. Ms. Thomas called for protection for the survivor in the event that any prominent accused go scot‑free following the verdict.

Honey M. Varghese, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Judge, is expected to pronounce the judgment in the case today at around 11 a.m. The case had attracted wide attention as a young woman actor was allegedly abducted and raped inside a moving car, and actor Dileep was arraigned as an accused.

Ms. Thomas recollected that her husband reacted as though his own daughter had been attacked on the night of the incident in February 2017. “He kept motivating the survivor and urged her to be bold and not to back out, but to remain steadfast in the fight to expose the truth. Many people asked PT not to give his statement, which he did over three days. Maybe they were concerned that PT would be endangered or found himself in a controversy. However, PT was determined and told them that he would say what he knew— nothing more, nothing less,” she said.

Ms. Thomas also recollected how tyres of a vehicle used by her husband was found tampered with. “There was no way it could have happened accidentally since the vehicle had just been serviced. The automobile company authorities met us and explained how a vehicle goes through various layers of checking before being released after service Though many people had at that time portrayed it as an attempt to endanger PT in connection with the case, I don’t want to say so without concrete evidence suggesting that,” she said.

A woman waiting for a bus had alerted the late legislator’s driver that one tyre was wobbling one evening in July 2017. The driver immediately parked the car and, on inspection, found that a screw on the rear left tyre had come unhinged while the remaining screws were all in removable condition. The same was found on the other tyres as well. Speaking to The Hindu at the time, Mr. Thomas had said, “It was very strange since I had got the car serviced just three days ago.” He later lodged a complaint with the Palarivattom police.