Rape case: Actor Siddique arrested, released on bail

Thiruvananthapuram: Malayalam actor Siddique, who was granted protection from arrest by the Supreme Court weeks ago in a case of rape, was arrested by the investigation agency and released on bail on Friday when he appeared before it, PTI reported.

The actor was formally arrested, his medical examination was carried out, and then he was released on bail after he was produced before a court here.

Siddique was granted protection from arrest by the top court on November 19.

Siddique had moved to the top court after the Kerala High Court on September 24, which denied him relief on the ground that in view of the seriousness of the accusations, his custodial interrogation was inevitable for a proper investigation of the crime.

Siddique, who was booked for offences under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), has claimed in his plea that the complainant has subjected him to a "prolonged campaign of harassment and false accusations" since 2019.

He had resigned from his post as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) following the rape allegations against him by a female actor.

Multiple FIRs were registered against many high-profile personalities in the Malayalam film industry following allegations of sexual harassment against various directors and actors in the wake of the revelations made in the Justice (retired) Hema Committee report.

The committee was formed by the Kerala government after a 2017 actress assault case, and it revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry.

However, an actress who had filed a sexual harassment complaint against actor-cum-politician Mukesh and others announced last month that she was withdrawing her complaint. According to her, she did not get the required support from the state government for her cause, and she added that the government was not ready to prove the truth in the POCSO case filed against her.