As the 2019 Kochi-Muziris Biennale comes to a close, the Biennale Foundation announced on Thursday that it was dropping its probe into the alleged sexual assault by Riyas Komu, artist and co-founder of Kochi Biennale.
The Foundation's board of trustees held a meeting on Thursday where the decision was taken. The statement from the KBF board noted that after anonymous allegations surfaced last year, Komu stepped down from all management positions at the Kochi Biennale Foundation on October 19, 2018.
"In the trustee meeting convened soon after, it was decided that Lizzie Jacob, trustee and former Chief Secretary of Kerala, and Chair of the Internal Complaints Committee, would proactively seek the complaint and authorise an inquiry,” the statement read.
"Since no complaint was forthcoming after pursuing the matter for several weeks, the ICC recommended the dropping of the inquiry suggested by the Foundation. This recommendation has been examined and has been accepted by the board of trustees at its meeting today," it said.
The Foundation has also said that it “looks forward to Riyas Komu resuming his roles of the Kochi Biennale Foundation".
Last year, an allegation against Riyas was posted on Instagram, accusing the artist of forcibly kissing a woman in a hotel room. Riyas posted an apology on the social media platform. "I'm deeply upset that this incident has been understood and presented in this manner. However, as the person expressed is hurt, I would like here to offer my apologies and I am opening myself to the possibility of a conversation.”
Riyas later accused the foundation of ‘marginalising’ and ‘humiliating’ him after he stepped down, following an ‘unfounded and anonymous allegation of sexual misconduct, made with a malicious intent’.
Riyas Komu co-founded KBF in 2010 along with another leading artist, Bose Krishnamachari.
With IANS inputs
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