Kerala Police File FIR Against Actor Siddique After Rape Allegation

Museum police in Thiruvananthapuram have filed an FIR against senior Malayalam actor Siddique for allegedly raping a young actress. Having submitted his resignation from the post of general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) in September, Siddique has counted his own complaint as acting against an actress who was plotting against him.

On Monday, actor Mohanlal stepped down from the position of AMMA president in the wake of the controversy following the report of the Justice Hema Committee on accusations of sexual harassment against some executive members of the committee. Following this, Mohanlal and all members of the executive submitted their resignations.

It is on this ground that the Hema Committee report made some AMMA members demand the immediate stepping down of these actors for having brought the ghost of controversy that is dearly hurting AMMA’s unity. Subsequently, more and more women actors have brought out their own complaints on discriminatory attitudes and ill treatments in the Malayalam cinema industry.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been ordered by the Kerala government to inquire into the problems faced by the women in the industry. The police department characterized this move: “The SIT has been strengthened by including additional women officers. All related cases registered at local police stations are to be handed over to the SIT for further investigation.”

On August 26, another Malayalam actress, Minu Muneer, accused many of sexually intimidating her in the film industry.