Breaking his silence over the allegations of sexual harassment, Malayalam actor Jayasurya on Sunday, September 1 said that the accusations against him were false. Claiming that the allegations have “shattered” him, the actor said that he would proceed with the case legally.
The actor who celebrates his birthday on September 1, thanked the people who stood by him.
In a statement issued on his Instagram account, Jayasurya said, “I have decided to move forward with this legally. My legal team will be looking after the rest of the proceedings regarding this case. False allegations are easy to make for anyone who lacks a conscience. I only hope one realises that facing a false accusation of harassment is just as painful as the harassment itself. A lie always travels faster than the truth but I believe truth will prevail.”
He said that due to my personal commitments, he has been in America for the past month and could not respond to the allegations immediately.
The actor has been alleged to have harassed two junior artists. On August 29 and 30, two cases were registered against him including under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“A lie always travels faster than the truth but I believe truth will prevail. I will be back as soon as I finish my work here. All the legal proceedings to prove my innocence will continue. I have complete faith in our judicial system.”
He added, “Thank you to those who contributed to making this birthday the most painful one. Let those who have not sinned throw stones; but only at those who have sinned.”
In the wake of the publication of Hema committee report which established the wide prevalence of sexual harassment in the Malayalam industry, many survivors have come forward to name their perpetrators.
Apart from Jayasurya, directors Ranjith and VK Prakash, actors Maniyanpilla Raju, Edavela Babu and Mukesh, production controllers Vichu and Noble, producer and Lawyers’ Congress president VS Chandrasekharan have been booked on allegations of sexual harassment.
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, the Committee had submitted the findings to the Government. However, the report was made public nearly five years later on August 19. 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.