Five years after she was allegedly abducted and assaulted in Kerala, actress Bhavana Menon has come out with an open statement regarding the incident, breaking the silence. Bhavana recalled the trauma and the mental pressure that she has been going through for the last five years adding how there were several attempts to humiliate and silence her. Bhavana's official statement on the incident read, "This has not been an easy journey. The journey from being a victim to becoming a survivor. For 5 years now, my name and my identity have been suppressed under the weight of the assault inflicted on me.

Though I am not the one who has committed the crime, there have been many attempts to humiliate, silence, and isolate me. But at such times I have had some who stepped forward to keep my voice alive. Now when I hear so many voices speak up for me I know that I am not alone in this fight for justice. To see justice prevail, to get wrongdoers punished and to ensure no one else goes through such an ordeal again, I shall continue this journey. For all those who are standing with me - a heartfelt thank you for your love".

This bold statement coming from Bhavana has earned much love from the people who have extended their support to the actress. Prominent actors like Prithviraj Sukumaran, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Nimisha Sajayan, director Anjali Menon, have welcomed this statement from Bhavana, standing by her side. In 2017, Bhavana was kidnapped and reportedly abducted by a criminal gang and popular Malayalam actor Dileep is believed to be one of the main accused in the case. On January 9, Sunday, a case against Dileep and five others were filed by the Crime Branch wing of Kerala Police for allegedly threatening the investigation officers in the sexual assault case.