Malayalam cinema #MeToo case: Arrest warrant against actor Siddique in assault case; lookout circular issued
Malayalam cinema #MeToo case: Kerala Police are likely to arrest actor Siddique after the Kerala High Court denied him anticipatory bail in the Malayalam cinema #MeToo case.
The court denied Siddique's bail application in a sexual assault case filed against him by a former actress. A lookout circular has been issued as police step up their efforts to trace Siddique.
The allegations come from a complaint submitted by an actress who claimed Siddique assaulted her in a state-owned hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016. According to reports, the victim first refrained from disclosing the incident but came forward after the shocking Hema Committee report was released last month. The investigation highlighted the systemic abuse and harassment that women undergo in the Malayalam cinema industry, prompting several former actresses to speak about their stories of exploitation.
The actor claimed that Siddique forced her into providing sexual favours in exchange for a role in a Tamil film. When she declined, he reportedly raped her. Siddique, the freshly elected general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), resigned shortly after the allegations came out, prompting the entire committee, chaired by actor Mohanlal, to resign as well.
Siddique rejected the allegations, accusing the complainant of harassing him since 2019 by making false claims on social media. According to Siddique, the actor had earlier accused him of misbehaving with her in a theatre in 2016, but it wasn't until the Hema Committee report that she raised her allegations of sexual assault.
- PTC NEWS
