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Kerala police file rape case against actor Siddique
This is the second first information report (FIR) registered by the police following allegations of sexual abuse against prominent figures in the Kerala film industry.
The Kerala Police on Wednesday registered a rape case against Malayalam actor Siddique on a complaint by a woman artiste, as part of a wider probe into allegations of sexual abuse against male professionals that have rocked the Kerala film industry following the Justice Hema Committee report last week, an officer aware of the developments said.
The Museum Police in Thiruvananthapuram registered the case against Siddique under sections of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC), and not under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, since the alleged sexual assault took place in 2016 and the new criminal laws only came into effect in July this year, the officer said.
Siddique last week had refuted the allegations.
This is the second first information report (FIR) registered by the police following allegations of sexual abuse against prominent figures in the Kerala film industry. On Monday, a case of misbehaviour was filed against filmmaker Ranjith at Ernakulam North police station on a complaint by a Bengali female actor.
Providing details on the second FIR, the officer cited above, who did not wish to be identified, said: “The actor filed her complaint with a Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was formed to probe the claims of sexual harassment against male professions in the industry. The FIR has been registered under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. Since the alleged assault took place in 2016, sections of the IPC have been invoked instead of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). Both are non-bailable sections. The probe will be led by SIT.
There was no immediate reaction from Siddique.
Following the female actor’s allegations last week, the actor, who has done over 350 films mostly in Malayalam, said he was innocent and also filed a complaint with the state director general of police (DGP) Sheik Darvesh Sahib, alleging an agenda behind the complaint.
The actor accused Siddique of raping her at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in January 2016, after he called her at the premises on the pretext of discussing a “non-existent” film project. She also accused the senior actor of threatening her if she disclosed the incident to anyone.
“I was a young entrant in the industry at the time. He (Siddique) invited me to a hotel on the pretext of discussing a film project. The movie did not exist. It was a trap. He sexually abused and raped me. He also physically assaulted me. I had to give up on my dreams, my time and I went through a lot of mental trauma,” she alleged last week.
In the wake of the allegations, Siddique on August 25 resigned as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), an influential film body.
On Tuesday, top actor and AMMA president Mohanlal and the 17-member executive committee of the organisation quit en masse, taking “moral responsibility”, after the allegations against male professionals were sparked by the Justice Hema Committee report.
In its landmark report on the working conditions of women movie professionals in Kerala, which was released on August 19, the Hema Committee said that women artistes and actors were routinely asked for sexual favours in exchange for opportunities, told to compromise, dealt with force exhibited by their male colleagues and threatened with bans if they attempted to sue.
The report was released roughly four-and-a-half years after it was submitted to the Kerala government, and recounted stark revelations about sexual harassment and abuse women faced within the industry, a powerful all-male lobby, unauthorised banning of artistes, poor treatment of junior artistes, and absence of legal remedies to address grievances.
After the report was released, several women actors, including a Bengali actress, went public with allegations of sexual harassment against some of the well-known faces of Malayalam cinema, including director Ranjith and actors Siddique and Mukesh, who is also an MLA.
On Sunday, the Kerala government constituted an SIT, comprising top IPS officers, to probe the claims.
On demands by BJP and Congress workers seeking Mukesh’s resignation as legislator, state finance minister KN Balagopal said: “These protests are political in nature. They must be seen that way. The party is not under any kind of duress over this issue. There is a clear procedure being followed and we don’t need to make any pre-conceived judgment.”
Meanwhile, the directors union of Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), in its first public statement, described the Hema panel report as a “blueprint for the film industry” and demanded that the names of the perpetrators in the document be made public.
