A case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been registered against a woman who had recently accused actors Mukesh, Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Edavela Babu of sexual harassment when she was junior artist in the Malayalam film industry. The Muvattupuzha police filed the case on Friday, September 20, based on a complaint by a local resident who is a relative of the accused woman.

According to the complainant, the accused woman attempted to introduce her to a group in Chennai years ago when she was 16 and tried to force her into the sex trade. She further alleged that the actor is involved in a sex racket.

The junior artist has been charged under the POCSO Act, the Juvenile Justice Act, and Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to outrage a woman’s modesty) and 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code, according to the police.

Earlier, the complainant spoke to the media, alleging that the accused woman took her to Chennai under the pretence of attending a movie audition. She claimed that during the audition, a few men began touching her inappropriately. In response, she shouted and cried out loudly, eventually escaping their grip. She further stated that the accused urged her to make “adjustments” to secure a role in the film.

In the last week of August, the accused woman, who resides in Chennai, filed a complaint against seven individuals, including the four actors. Initially, she raised the allegations through a Facebook post as part of the MeToo movement that followed the release of the Hema Committee report. On August 27, she sent separate email complaints to the Kerala police against actors Jayasurya, Edavela Babu, Maniyanpilla Raju, production controllers Noble and Vichu, as well as producer and Lawyers’ Congress president VS Chandrasekharan.

She also accused Mukesh of harassing her on multiple occasions many years ago but said she refrained from filing a complaint at the time because she was new to the industry and afraid of the consequences.