A police officer said the former Rajya Sabha MP was asked to appear before the investigating officer to record his statement by 18 November.
Published Nov 10, 2023 | 5:50 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 10, 2023 | 5:50 PM
Suresh Gopi, who recently assumed office as the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, also has several upcoming acting commitments. (X)
The Kerala police have summoned actor and BJP leader Suresh Gopi in a case about misbehaving with a woman journalist during his interaction with reporters in Kozhikode last month.
A police officer said the former Rajya Sabha MP was asked to appear before the investigating officer to record his statement by 18 November.
“We served a notice to Gopi in this regard. He was asked to appear on or before 18 November,” he told PTI.
The former BJP Rajya Sabha member landed in trouble after a video surfaced online in which he was seen placing his hand on the shoulder of the journalist, who tried to shrug away twice.
Based on her complaint, the Nadakkavu Police in Kozhikode on 28 October, registered the case against Gopi. She lodged the complaint along with the purported video of the incident with the city police commissioner, who, in turn, handed it over to the local police station for further action.
The woman journalist also took up the issue with the Kerala Women’s Commission, which sought a report from the district police chief.
“A case was registered against Suresh Gopi under IPC 354,” a police officer told PTI.
Section 354 of the IPC deals with assault or use of criminal force against any woman, intending to outrage her modesty.
However, the officer declined to divulge further details of the investigation at the moment.
The former BJP Rajya Sabha member landed in trouble after a video that surfaced online purportedly showed Gopi placing his hand on the shoulder of the journalist, who pushed it away twice, during a media interaction in northern Kozhikode.
Facing intense criticism from various quarters, the Kaliyattam actor tendered an apology, saying he only treated her with affection.
Gopi said he had never been disrespectful to anyone in his life on or off the stage and apologised to her if she had suffered any mental agony due to his behaviour.
The actor said he had treated the woman journalist affectionately in the presence of other media persons.
“But, in my opinion, whatever she feels about it should be respected. I tender an apology if she felt bad or suffered any mental stress anyway… Sorry,” Gopi, also a national award-winning actor, said in a Facebook post.
Despite his apology, criticism from various quarters pointed out that his behaviour had been inappropriate.
(With PTI inputs)
