Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 9 -- A Kerala court on Monday convicted six people but acquitted actor Dileep in the sensational 2017 actress abduction and gang rape case that made national headlines, sent shock waves through the Malayalam film industry and prompted far-reaching shifts in state movie bodies. Ernakulam principal sessions judge Honey M Varghese read out the verdict in a packed courtroom shortly after 11 am, capping a trial that ebbed and flowed over seven years, stunning the state's public consciousness and precipitating landmark changes in the film industry. The sentence will be pronounced on Friday. The trial court found six accused -- Sunil NS, aka 'Pulsar' Suni, Martin Antony, B Manikandan, VP Vijeesh, H Salim and Pradeep -- guilty of charges including gang rape, kidnapping, intent to outrage a woman's modesty, and conspiracy. At the same time, the prosecution could not gather enough evidence to prove the charge of conspiracy against actor Dileep, who allegedly ordered the assault on the woman actor as part of a personal grudge, the court said. Three other accused -- Charley Thomas, Sanil Kumar and Sarath G Nair -- who were charged with offences including harbouring an accused and destroying evidence were also acquitted. The full court order is awaited. The state government said it will appeal the verdict. As soon as the announcement of the actor's acquittal was made. On February 17, 2017, a leading Malayalam actress, while on her way from Thrissur to Kochi, was abducted and sexually assaulted inside a moving car. The assault was also videographed by the six-member gang headed by 'Pulsar' Suni. The prosecution argued that the kidnapping and gang rape of the actress was carried out on the instructions of Dileep who allegedly harboured resentment against her for being involved in his break-up and eventual divorce from actress Manju Warrier. Dileep also allegedly suspected that the actress was responsible for informing Warrier about his extramarital affair with Kavya Madhavan, his current wife. Law and justice minister P Rajeev confirmed that the state will approach the high court. B Raman Pillai, the actor's advocate, said the verdict was on expected lines. "The allegations of conspiracy against me started at the point when Manju (Warrier) talked about a criminal conspiracy angle in the case. A senior police officer and some criminal officers planted this conspiracy against me and fabricated a case with the help of the main accused in this case. With the help of some journalists and media organisations, they spread this theory on social media. Today, in court, this fake case has been busted," the actor told reporters. "The real conspiracy was against me and to destroy my career and my life." B Raman Pillai, the actor's advocate, said the verdict was on expected lines....