Survivors' reluctant to cooperate: Hema Committee-based probe stalled

Thiruvananthapuram: In the matter of legal proceedings after the Hema Committee report, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the state government to probe allegations of sexual abuse in the Malayalam film industry has filed charge sheets in 26 cases, out of 120 FIRs registered in police various police stations. However, the reluctance of many survivors to cooperate with the probe has stalled many cases, On Manorama reported.

The SIT has informed the respective courts that it cannot proceed with the case where survivors stopped cooperating by not giving statements. It added that when they are ready to cooperate, the probe will resume.

The SIT had registered 35 cases based on the Hema Committee report and filed 85 cases based on on revelations on social media and disclosure by survivors after the contents of the Hema Committee report were made public. Out of these, chargesheet were filed on 26 cases, including one with allegations against a make-up artist.

An officer in the SIT told On Manorama that in the cases that were recorded directly based on the Hema Committee report, there were no names. It meant we were required to gather information from survivors, and they said they did not want to proceed with the investigation. Even in other cases, survivors did not turn up to give statements, even though the court sent them notices thrice.