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Bhavana Menon, the well-known actress from the southern Indian state of Kerala, says she was taken hostage and raped in 2017, breaking the silence only five years after what she called “the difficult journey back from a victim, to a survivors ”.
Menon, who has worked on more than 80 films in South Indian languages and won a number of prestigious awards, was attacked by a group of men while traveling from Thrissur to Kochi in February 2017.
The severe attack on her was in the front pages of the media, especially when that main perpetrator of the violence was named Dileep, a well-known actor of the Indian film industry and colleague of the victim in several well-known films.
He denied the charges but was arrested and held in custody for three months before being released on bail.
The case is still being heard in court.
“I used to be a normal girl who liked to have fun and this incident happened that turned my life upside down. “Many people see the smiling photos I post on social media, but I went through hell and came back,” Menon said in a telephone interview.
She added: “Initially I blamed myself but in 2020 when the trial started I testified in court for 15 days, and there things changed. “I, who was the one who wanted to forget everything, had to remember every detail of the horror.”
She said the attackers had made videos of the heinous act and used it to blackmail her.
Many of the commentators spoke against the victim, asking him why he was traveling in the evening or saying that the accusations were fabricated, and that she herself had staged it.
“It was very serious, what people said was tearing me apart, I had turned into a victim without dignity and ashamed.”
“I was a well-known actress and then the news showed me in the photo and the attack in detail. “After the details of the attack were published, they removed my name, but then everyone knew.”
“This was not an easy journey, to turn from a victim into a survivor. “For 5 years my name was hidden under the weight of the attack that was carried out on me”, she wrote.
“But even though I am not the one who committed the crime, there were many attempts to shame, silence and isolate me. “At this time there were some people who dared to help me make my voice heard, but now I hear a lot of voices talking about me and I am no longer alone in the fight for justice.”
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