THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 29 May 2007 — Ace Malayalam comedian Jagathy Sreekumar was acquitted yesterday in the sensational Vithura sex scandal in which he was accused of raping a minor girl a decade back. “The truth has prevailed. I owe it to the prayers of my well-wishers,” said the actor who has acted in over 1,000 films, most of them big commercial successes.
Sreekumar, who is popular among all generations, reported in the court at 2.30 p.m. and remained there till Special Court Judge P.K. Baburaj pronounced his judgment two hours later.
“I have been going through this ordeal for 11 long years. As a law-abiding citizen, I appeared in court every time I was called in and today was my daughter’s betrothal,” he added.
The special court was set up to look into this case and the Suryanelli sex case in which another teenage girl was allegedly sexually assaulted. He was the first defendant in one of the 20 cases registered in connection with the abduction of the 16 year old and sexually assaulting her by some 45 people.
The court had framed charges against the 51-year-old actor five years back for “raping” the girl in a Kochi hotel on Nov. 7, 1996, but the trial was delayed as he questioned it in the higher courts. The HC finally cleared his trial last month after Supreme Court set a deadline for disposing of the case.
