Police in Thiruvananthapuram registered a rape case against senior Malayalam actor Siddique on Wednesday following an actress’s allegation of sexual assault.
Siddique, who recently stepped down from a leading position in a film artists’ association in Kerala because of the allegations, has been booked for rape and
criminal intimidation.
The woman claimed the incident occurred in 2016 at a luxury hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, where she was allegedly assaulted after being promised a role in a film.
Siddique had filed a complaint with the police alleging a criminal conspiracy to frame him in a false case. Sources said he had contacted his lawyers to seek a pre-arrest bail and a plea would be filed in a day or two.
He is the second industry bigwig being booked after the police registered an FIR against director Ranjith over charges of assault or criminal force in outraging the modesty of a woman based on the complaint by actress Sreelekha Mitra.
She had accused Ranjith of touching her inappropriately during a discussion for a film in 2009 in Kochi.
The allegation forced Ranjith to step down as the chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy on Sunday. He is among the actors and filmmakers consulting senior counsels to file anticipatory bail applications in the coming days.
A special investigation team formed to handle all cases related to sexual abuse in the Malayalam film industry has so far received 18 complaints from actresses against their male colleagues, many of them senior actors and directors.
The floodgates opened after Sreelekha made the allegations against Ranjith last week following the release of the Hema Committee report on gender discrimination and sexual abuse in the Malayalam film industry.
The seven-member SIT, including four women IPS officers, has started investigating the complaints.
Two women officers on Wednesday visited the apartment of an actress who has accused veteran actor and CPM MLA Mukesh, actors Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju, Edavela Babu, Congress leader Chandrashekaran and two production controllers of molesting her or seeking sexual favours from her.
Deputy inspector-general of police Ajitha Begum and additional inspector-general G. Poonguzhali recorded the actress’s statement. “The SIT will investigate each complaint properly. Our investigation has started,” Begum told reporters after meeting the complainant.
A police source said the SIT would talk to each complainant before registering FIRs since most of the cases would be dependent entirely on circumstantial evidence since they happened several years ago.
The CPM has asked the state culture department to take a call on removing Mukesh from the Film Policy Committee set up to frame guidelines and policies to make the industry a better place for all, especially women who face gender discrimination and sexual abuse.
A hundred women writers and social activists on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking Mukesh’s resignation as an MLA.
