The Kerala government on Sunday decided to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by a woman IAS officer, to probe the allegations of sexual harassment against some top actors in the Malayalam film industry.
The announcement came days after the Congress-led UDF urged Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to initiate a comprehensive police probe based on the Justice K Hema committee report, which revealed incidents of harassment, exploitation, ill-treatment and other human rights abuses of women in the Malayalam film industry.
Inspector General Sparjan Kumar will head the SIT which will be comprised of other senior women police officers.
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“Some women working in the field of cinema have come out with interviews and statements describing the ordeals they had to face in the said field. In this matter, Chief Minister called a meeting of top police officials today (25.08.2024)”, a statement from CMO read.
The special team has been tasked with collecting statements from the complainants and examining revelations made on social media platforms.
The Hema Committee report, recently made public, has brought to light the widespread issue of sexual abuse within the Malayalam film industry.
The report has emboldened several women professionals to come forward and speak up openly about the alleged harassment they suffered by well-known figures in the industry.
Earlier in the day, popular Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith resigned as the chairman of Kerala Chalachitra Academy following allegations of misbehaviour levelled against him by a Bengali actor.
The Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra has alleged that the award-winning filmmaker had behaved inappropriately when she came up for the shooting of a film that he had helmed in 2009.
Ranjith, however, rejected the actor’s charge and claimed that he was the “real victim” in the case.
In a similar claim, an actor from the Malayalam film industry came up with sexual assault charges against senior actor Siddique. After the allegations, Siqqique also stepped down as the General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA).
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