The Kalamassery police in Kerala’s Ernakulam district on Friday said that they have identified the men who harassed a woman actor at a shopping mall in Kochi. On Thursday, the actor had said that she was harassed by the men while shopping with her family in Kochi's Lulu Mall.
Talking to the media after checking visuals from the shopping mall, officials of Kalamassery police station said that the men have been identified and that they are youngsters. "They touched her in an inappropriate manner," an official said. Though the actor hasn't filed a police complaint yet, officials said that her statement will be taken.
Meanwhile, condemning the incident, Kerala Women's Commission took suo motu cognisance of the issue. In a statement, commission chairperson MC Josephine said that officials will take the actor's statement on Saturday.
Watch video of police reaction:
It was on Thursday night that the woman actor took to Instagram and wrote a note about the harassment. She wrote that one of the two men groped her while she was inside the hypermarket in the mall. Though she tried to confront the men, they disregarded her and went off. Following this, the men again stalked her and tried to make frivolous conversation.
In the moving note, she also urges women to confront such issues appropriately.
“Being a woman has been very tiring, to be on guard every minute as you step out of your house. To watch my clothes when I bend and turn. To guard my chest with my arms in a crowd… And on the days I’m home, I worry about my mother, my sister, my friends who have to do the same things. It is all because of these sick men. You take away our safety. You take away our comfort and the joy of our womanhood. I despise you,” the actor wrote.