A young woman actor in Kerala who had come out with allegations of sexual assault against senior actor Siddique, has filed a police complaint against him on Tuesday, August 27. She has filed a complaint of sexual assault with the Museum police station in Thiruvananthapuram, the city Commissioner of Police and the State Police Chief. The police has registered a case under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
In her complaint, she has detailed how she and her parents went to meet Siddique during a movie premiere in 2016 and then she went to meet him at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. She also said that she faced online harassment after her first revelation in 2019 and feared backlash.
Two days ago, Siddique quit his post as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) after the woman came out in public with her allegations. She had first spoken out about sexual harassment in 2019, alleging that Siddique had misbehaved with her in 2016 after inviting her to discuss about working in films.
However, the allegations resurfaced with the publication of the Hema Committee report last week, that revealed among other issues, the serial sexual harassment that women in the industry were subjected to. Days after the report came out, Siddique, as general secretary of AMMA, called a press conference, offering the organisation’s acceptance of the Committee report and support for the women who wished to make complaints. Shortly afterward, the woman actor came out before the media and spoke about the alleged sexual assault she had survived in 2016.
On Monday, August 26, Siddique made a police complaint against the woman, alleging criminal conspiracy, “to fabricate and spread false allegations against him”. Along with Siddique, two other members holding key positions in AMMA – like Jayan R and Baburaj – were also named in other allegations of sexual harassment. On Tuesday, the president of AMMA, renowned actor Mohanlal, resigned from his position and the entire committee of office-bearers was dissolved.
