The sexual harassment allegation made by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra against a Malayalam filmmaker has put the Kerala government under pressure after its culture minister openly defended the director.

Culture minister Saji Cherian defended the filmmaker, Ranjith, who is also the chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, by saying: “We are unaware of the facts”.

While Sreelekha had accused Ranjith of touching her inappropriately after she was called over to Kochi to discuss a film, the director denied the allegations contorting that she was angry at being rejected for any role in the film.

Cherian, on the other hand, rejected the demand for removing Ranjith, a Left sympathiser, from the Kerala Chalachitra Academy.

“The director has already denied the allegations,” Cherian said, sparking a row with even Left leaders seeking action against the director.

Kerala Women’s Commission chairperson P. Sathidevi called for the immediate removal of Ranjith from the academy. “The government should immediately launch an investigation since he’s the chairman of the Chalachitra Academy. He should be removed from that post to facilitate a transparent investigation,” she demanded.

Sathidevi reminded all those who might come up questioning the delay in Sreelekha’s disclosure that it is perfectly fine for a woman to take any number of years to open up. “She was obviously encouraged by the Hema Committee report and her allegation can be investigated even if she has taken so many years to speak up,” she said.

She even urged women, who have similar grievances but are scared to take on the high and mighty, to “be brave and speak up with an erect spine and heads held high”.

“They are pointing their fingers at those who have erred,” Sathidevi said justifying disclosures such as the one made by Sreelekha.

“It cannot be said that an investigation would follow only a written complaint. The allegations raised by the actor must be investigated in a time-bound manner,” she said.

When asked if the government would dare to act on such a popular filmmaker, Sathidevi reminded the reporters about the arrest of hugely popular actor, Dileep, over the kidnap and sexual assault of an actor.

Dileep had spent 88 days in judicial remand for allegedly conspiring the 2017 incident when a gang of four men waylaid the actor’s car, hijacked it and sexually abused her in the running vehicle near Kochi. Several other filmmakers had also been booked over sexual abuse allegations in the recent past.

Film industry professionals also urged the government to remove Ranjith and objected to Cherian’s defence by refusing to act on the sexual harassment allegations.

“The statement made by the culture minister is not in tandem with the Left politics or the declared position of the Left. So, it is pertinent to correct him now,” said noted filmmaker Ashiq Abu.

He reminded the government that Sreelekha is a Left co-traveller herself. “I am registering my strongest protest against the minister’s statement. When a woman opens up about her traumatic experience, all we need to do is believe her. And that should be the Left position. This minister doesn’t even have that basic sensibility,” Abu lashed out.