Malayalam actors Jayasoorya and Maniyanpilla Raju booked for sexual assault

Kochi/Thiruvananthapuram: Separate cases have been filed in Kerala against popular Malayalam actors Jayasoorya and Maniyanpilla Raju after a female actor accused them of sexually assaulting them, police said on Thursday.

A senior police official from Ernakulam said that an FIR (Fire Inquiry Inquiry) has been registered against Raju under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code at the Fort Kochi police station.

The Thiruvananthapuram district police confirmed that a case has been registered against Jayasoorya under the same section.

Several FIRs have been registered against many well-known Malayalam film personalities, following allegations of sexual harassment against several directors and actors, in the wake of revelations in the Justice K Hema Commission report.

The complainant, who has acted in a handful of films, accused well-known actors M Mukesh, who is also an MLA, Jayasurya and Maniyanpilla Raju, and small-time actor Idavela Babu, who played an important role in the actors’ fraternity, of sexual abuse.

In a Facebook post, the female actor had said, “I am writing to report series of incidents of physical and verbal abuse suffered by me at the hands of 1 Mukesh, 2 Maniyan Pilla Raju, 3 Idavela Babu, 4 Jayasoorya (Jayasurya), 5 adv Chandrasekaran, 6 production controller Noble and Vichu, in the Malayalam film industry.”

“In 2013, I was physically and verbally abused by these individuals while working on a project. I tried to cooperate and continue working, but the abuse became unbearable,” the actress alleged in her Facebook post.

A rape case was filed last night against prominent Malayalam actor and ruling CPI(M) MP Mukesh. The female actor accused her of sexually assaulting her years ago.

Reportedly, charges have also been filed against the other suspects.

On Wednesday, Thiruvananthapuram Museum police arrested actor Sidhique for allegedly raping an actress in a hotel eight years ago.

The first case, under Section 354 of the Penal Code (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her), was against director Ranjith. The case involved a complaint by a female actor from West Bengal about an incident that took place in 2009.

Following the actor’s allegations, Ranjith resigned as chairman of the state-run Kerala Chalachitra Academy.

Sidhique had also resigned as General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) following the allegations against him.

The Justice Hema Committee was set up by the Kerala government after the 2017 sexual assault case of an actress. The report exposed cases of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.

Following allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the formation of a seven-member special investigation team to probe the allegations.