- Saturday, December 21, 2024
A rape case has been registered against Mukesh, while Jayasoorya and Maniyanpilla Raju have been booked under Section 354 (intent to outrage a woman’s modesty)
By: Shajil Kumar
THREE more Malayalam film actors, M Mukesh, Jayasoorya and Maniyanpilla Raju have been booked following complaints of sexual harassment by various women actors.
A rape case has been registered against Mukesh, who is also a CPI(M) MLA, following a woman actor’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her years ago, police said on Thursday.
An FIR under IPC 376 (rape) was registered against the actor at Maradu police station in Kochi city on Wednesday night, a police officer said.
The case was registered under the IPC as the offence allegedly occurred before the new Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita came to force, he said.
Separate cases have been registered against Jayasoorya and Maniyanpilla Raju following an allegation raised by a woman actor that they had sexually assaulted her, police said on Thursday.
A senior police official from Ernakulam said an FIR under Section 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Fort Kochi police station against Raju.
The Cantonment police in Thiruvananthapuram confirmed that a case under the same section was registered against Jayasoorya.
In a Facebook post, the woman actor stated, “I am writing to report a series of incidents of physical and verbal abuse I suffered at the hands of 1 Mukesh 2 Maniyan Pilla Raju, 3 Idavela Babu, 4 Jayasoorya (Jayasurya), 5 adv Chandrasekaran, 6 production controller Noble and Vichu, in the Malayalam film industry.”
“In 2013, I was subjected to physical and verbal abuse by these individuals while working on a project. I tried to cooperate and continue working, but the abuse became unbearable,” the actress, in her Facebook post, alleged.
So far, five Malayalam actors have been booked following allegations of sexual harassment in the wake of revelations in the Justice K Hema Committee report.
On Wednesday, Thiruvananthapuram museum police had booked actor Siddique for allegedly raping an actress in a hotel eight years ago.
The first case, under IPC Section 354 was against director Ranjith on a complaint by a female actor from West Bengal regarding an incident that occurred in 2009.
She alleged that the director had touched her inappropriately with sexual intent after inviting her to act in the movie ‘Paleri Manikyam’.
Following the allegation by the actor, Ranjith had resigned from his post as chairman of the state-run Kerala Chalachitra Academy.
Siddique had also resigned as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) following the allegations against him.
Meanwhile, a yesteryear actor Usha told Manorama daily that a senior actor behaved inappropriately in an elevator during a 1992 Gulf show. She immediately slapped him and added she never expected such a behviour from the actor.
Political tussle
The ruling LDF in Kerala on Thursday threw its weight behind CPI(M) MLA Mukesh, booked in a rape case, saying that the two Congress legislators who are accused in sexual assault cases should resign first.
At the same time, LDF convener E P Jayarajan also said that neither the CPI(M) nor the Left government will protect any wrongdoers in any of the cases registered on the allegations against various actors and directors.
Jayarajan was responding to reporters’ queries on whether Mukesh would resign or not.
He said that earlier, much bigger sexual assault cases were lodged against two other MLAs who had not resigned. He was referring to Congress MLAs M Vincent and Eldhose Kunnappilly.
Senior CPI(M) leader and former minister K K Shailaja on Thursday said if it’s proved that party MLA Mukesh committed the crimes he has been accused of, then he has no right to continue as a legislator.
Shailaja said that a special investigation team (SIT) is probing all the allegations that have surfaced, including against Mukesh, in the wake of the Justice Hema Committee report.
Once the SIT gives its report, the government will take an appropriate decision, she said.
“If he has committed a crime, then he is not eligible to continue in that position. But, right now we are in the initial stages of the investigation and we cannot say whether he should resign or not,” she said.
She further said that the government will not try to protect anyone who is found to be an offender and it was not biased in favour of anyone.
However, CPI leader Annie Raja on Thursday said Mukesh no longer has the legal or moral standing to continue in his post as MLA following the registration of a rape case against him.
Raja said that after the Justice Hema Committee report was made public, some women had made allegations against the MLA and even at that time the CPI was of the view that he should resign in order for the truth to come out.
“Now with a case being registered against him, he no longer has the moral or legal standing to continue in that post. He should resign from his post as MLA.
“It will also support the state government’s efforts to ensure a safe and secure working environment for women in the film industry in the wake of the Hema Committee’s findings and recommendations,” she said.
The CPI leader further said that if Mukesh does not resign as MLA, the state government’s “sincere and honest” efforts would be hampered.
“It will also affect the image of the state government. The Left Front is pro-women,” she added.
The Justice Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.
Amidst allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe them. (PTI)
