Speaking to reporters on Monday, actor Minu Muneer alleged that she had faced sexual misconduct from many actors. She named Mukesh, a former two-time CPI(M) MLA; Edavela Babu, a prominent leader of the AMMA; and actors Maniyanpilla Raju and Jayasurya.

ALLEGATIONS OF sexual misconduct that have gripped the Malayalam film industry continued to spiral on Monday, with more actors as well as senior members of the Association of Malayalam Movies Artistes (AMMA) being named as accused, and Kerala Police filing its first case in this connection.

On Sunday, director and Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman Ranjith and actors’ association general secretary Siddique had stepped down from their respective positions over the allegations.

On Monday, the police registered a non-bailable case against Ranjith based on the complaint of a woman actor who accused him of sexual misconduct. Ranjith has said the allegation was an outcome of a “concerted move” against him after he became chairman of the Academy.

In the wake of the release of the Justice Hema Committee report, which had exposed rampant sexual abuse and exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry, Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra had told the media last week that Ranjith had allegedly misbehaved with her in 2009, during the pre-production phase of the film ‘Paleri Manikyam’.

She filed a complaint with Kochi city police, which registered a case under IPC Section 354, which deals with criminal force or assault against a woman with the intention to outrage her modesty.

The case will be handed over to the Special Investigation Team set up by the Kerala government to look into the allegations being raised in the aftermath of the Hema Committee report’s release.

Siddique, general secretary of AMMA, meanwhile filed a police complaint in which he denied the allegations against him and said it was part of a “criminal conspiracy”. He has been accused of raping a woman actor in 2016.

“The reputation of the entire Malayalam film industry is being deliberately tarnished by a group of persons and it is essential that the persons behind this criminal conspiracy are brought to light. I request you to take effective action in this matter to bring out the truth, and reveal the perpetrators behind the criminal conspiracy to fabricate and publish false and scandalous allegations through (the woman),” he wrote to the DGP.

Source:  indianexpress