Kerala govt forms SIT to probe allegations of sexual abuse against ‘stars’

Kerala-CM-Pinarayi-Vijayan

As the Justice Hema Commission report created a stir in Kerala, the state government on Sunday, August 25, constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate complaints filed by women in the Malayalam film industry.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on August 25 held a high-level meeting with senior police officials to discuss the issue of widespread sexual exploitation, ‘compromises’ and formulate a strategy to address these complaints.

After the meeting, the CM’s office issued a statement announcing the formation of a special investigation team. The team, headed by IG G Sparjan Kumar, will comprise women police officers and will be headed by Crime Branch ADGP H Venkitesh.

The main objective of the team is to thoroughly investigate the complaints and ensure that justice is done to the affected persons.

The members of the special investigation team are as follows:

G Sparjan Kumar – IG, leading the investigation

S. Ajeetha Begum – GRAVES

Merin Joseph – SP Crime Department Headquarters

G Poonguzhali – AIG, Coastal Police

Aishwarya Donkere – Assistant Director, Kerala Police Academy

Ajith V – AIG, Law and Order

S Madhusoodanan – SP Crime Branch, Thiruvananthapuram.

Related: Third party complaint filed against actor Siddique, while Revathy Sampath says she won’t file one yet

Report of the Hema Justice Commission

The developments in the Malayalam film industry seem to indicate that the Hema Commission report has opened Pandora’s box. The Kerala government released the report on August 19, which exposed the harassment faced by female actors in the film industry. The report was released after the Kerala High Court dismissed the pleas of actor Ranjini against the publication of the report. She had said that she was among those who had given their statements to the commission but had not been given a copy.

The report delves deep into everything from wage discrimination to sexual exploitation, and exposes the hidden harassment in the Malayalam film industry. It also exposed the casting couch culture and the silent suffering of women in cinema. The government omitted some sections that reveal the personal information of actors, and published a 233-page document.

The report said that female actors are typically expected to provide sexual favors to insiders. The controller or the one making an offer for a role in the cinema first approaches the woman (in some cases a girl) or if it is the other way around, a woman approaches every person in the cinema seeking an opportunity, she is told that she has to make “adjustments” and “compromises” to make her way into the cinema, the report said.

“Compromise” and “adjustment” are two terms that are very familiar to women in the Malayalam film industry and they are asked to make themselves available for sex on demand. The report also throws light on the difficult challenges faced by women in the Malayalam film industry.

(Edited by Neena with inputs from Sreelakshmi)

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