'No protection from Kerala govt': Actress who accused CPI(M)'s Mukesh of sexual abuse drops cases

Kochi: A 51-year-old Malayalam actress who had raised sexual assault complaints against at least seven prominent film personalities, including actor-turned-CPI(M) MLA M Mukesh, on Friday said she was not keen on pursuing her complaints due to "lack of support and protection from the Kerala government" and the media.

The complainant said in a social media post that she had raised the complaint with the good intention of putting an end to the tendency of seeking sexual favours at workplace. But she didn't get any government support. None, including the media, did anything to try and expose the fake POCSO case registered against her, she said.

Incidentally the fresh development took place close on the heels of Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) filing a petition at the Kerala High Court seeking effective regulations to address problems being faced by women in the film industry. The HC has sought government's view on the matter.

"I would like to tell everyone that due to the government's carelessness and lack of protection for a woman who has come forward like this, I have suffered more than I can handle. I am mentally exhausted. They are not helping or protecting a woman," the complainant said.

"Therefore, I do not want to pursue the cases. It is not because I have compromised with anyone," she told reporters.

She claimed that she was made an accused in a POCSO case following her complaints against the actors, also including Maniyanpilla Raju and Idavela Babu, and the government did nothing to protect her.

"I am innocent. I want justice. I want the POCSO case against me to be probed thoroughly and quickly. If I commit suicide, the government will be responsible for it," she said.

The Muvattupuzha police had registered the case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, against the woman actor based on a complaint lodged by her relative.

According to the police, the incident occurred in 2014. The relative has alleged that she was a minor at the time of the incident and that the actor was running a sex racket.

The actor had vehemently denied the allegations and claimed that the woman relative owed her some money, and these allegations were to shift attention from her complaint against the high-profile actors.

The actress' allegations against the actors came in the wake of the Justice Hema committee report on sexual harassment and other forms of exploitation in the film industry became public in August. Several women actors had made revelations about being harassed while working in the Malayalam film industry. The complete report was placed before the Kerala High Court which directed that it be handed over to the special investigation team (SIT) that was constituted to probe complaints of sexual abuse in the film industry.

Subsequently, 26 FIRs were registered by the SIT in connection with the revelations in the report.

Apart from Mukesh, the same woman actor raised sexual assault allegations against prominent film personalities like Jayasurya, 'Maniyanpillai' Raju, 'Idavela' Babu and Balachandra Menon. All the alleged incidents took place several years back. The police registered cases against all of them and they are all out on bail.

After a case was registered against Mukesh, opposition parties staged strong demonstrations demanding his resignation. There were also differences within the CPM over defending Mukesh's MLA post. CPM politburo member Brinda Karat had also flayed the stand.

(With PTI inputs)