As the release of the Justice Hema Committee report, which looked into gender issues in Malayalam cinema and unveiled disturbing realities within the industry, continue to rock the Malayalam film industry, the Kerala government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a preliminary probe into the sexual harassment allegations made against several actors.

According to a press statement from the Chief Minister’s Office, CM Pinarayi Vijayan had convened a meeting of senior police officials on Sunday, August 25, following which the SIT was formed under IGP G Sparjan Kumar. The team also includes senior women police officers and will operate under the supervision of Crime Branch ADGP H Venkatesh. The members of the special team will be IGP G Sparjan Kumar, DIG S Ajeetha Beegum, SP Crime Branch HQ Merin Joseph, AIG Coastal Police G Poonkuzhali, Kerala Police Academy Assistant Director Aishwarya Dongre, Law & Order AIG Ajith V, Crime Branch SP S Madhusoodanan.

On Sunday, actor Siddique and director Ranjith quit from their respective positions as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) and chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, following allegations of sexual harassment against them.

The Justice Hema Committee was formed by the Kerala Government in 2017 based on a petition by the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) to study the challenges faced by women in the industry. In December 2019, they had submitted the findings to the Kerala Government but the report was not made public for so long because of multiple reasons. The report has pointed out various issues ranging from sexual abuse and lack of grievance redressal systems to the unavailability of toilet facilities for women in film sets.