Kerala Police book actor Siddique in rape case
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Thiruvananthapuram: Following a complaint was filed earlier this week, Kerala Police registered a rape case against frontline Malayalam actor Siddique. The complainant, a young actor, had raised the allegation first through the media, which led to Siddique stepping down as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), The Indian Express (TIE) reported.
The complainant, who was a woman aspirant in the Malayalam film industry, raised the allegation once the Justice Hema Committee report was published. The committee report found that there was rampant sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and flagrant gender injustice taking place in the Malayalam film industry.
Following the release of the Hema Committee report, more actors came out, raising allegations against a set of male actors and technical staff in the Malayalam industry. The landslide event started with Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra accusing director Ranjith of sexual harassment.
On Wednesday, police said that they had registered an FIR naming Siddique under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) at Thiruvananthapuram city police limits.
The complainant alleged that the crime against her happened in 2016 at a hotel in the city.
It was learned that a special investigation team will probe all the complaints that were raised following the release of the Hema Committee report.
There was also a complaint filed against Siddique demanding that he be named in a case under the POCSO Act.
However, following the allegations against him, actor Siddique approached the police, claiming that there was a criminal conspiracy to fabricate and spread false allegations against him. He also filed a complaint with the police in which he said, “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”, TIE quoted.