The two cases have now been transferred to the SIT (Special Investigation Team) constituted by the Kerala police.
Published Sep 30, 2024 | 1:29 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 30, 2024 | 1:29 PM
Sexual harassment. (iStock)
In a first, Kerala police registered two cases based on the disclosures made before the Justice Hema Committee. The two cases involved makeup artists.
While the first case has been registered at Kottayam’s Ponkunnam Police Station, the second case has been registered at Kollam’s Pooyapally Police Station.
In the first case, the incident is said to have happened in 2014, when a makeup artist complained that a person, identified as Koratti native Sajeev, misbehaved with her.
In the second case, a makeup artist complained of misbehaviour by another makeup artist Ratheesh Ambadi.
The cases have been transferred to the SIT constituted by the Kerala police.
The government appointed a SIT to probe the allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation of women in Malayalam cinema. The SIT is set to take further legal action based on the findings of the Hema Committee report.
Sources reveal that there are over 20 cases involving serious allegations. The complainants in these cases will be contacted, and legal proceedings will be initiated with their consent. Further, the SIT decided that if the individuals provide new statements, the team will move forward with the necessary legal steps.
Meanwhile, they are also preparing to file cases under the POCSO Act (Prevention of Child Sexual Offences) for revelations that fall within its scope, without requiring the victims to re-record their statements.
The original Hema Committee report is 3,896 pages long, while the RTI applicants were provided only 296 pages. The SIT will seek assistance from the Department of Culture or members of the Hema Committee to identify those who did not reveal their identity.
Although the recorded statements have been shared with the investigation team, they cannot make copies of the document.
The Kerala government constituted the Justice Hema Committee after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.
The publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report opened a can of worms with several female actors stepping forward with disturbing accounts of the mistreatment they faced at the hands of their various male counterparts.
The Hema Commission report was made public on 19 August, five years after it was submitted to the Kerala government.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula, with inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman)
