Actor Jayasurya breaks silence, refutes sexual harassment allegations; vows legal action

Actor Jayasurya on Sunday broke his silence on the allegations of sexual harassment and denied the charges, saying they have “shattered” him, his family and everyone close to them.

The actor, who has been in the US with his family for the past month, said he will pursue the allegations legally and that his lawyers will handle the proceedings in the lawsuits against him until he returns.

“My family and I were in America for the past month due to personal commitments. During that time, two false allegations of sexual harassment were made against me.

“It has of course devastated me, my family and everyone I held dear. I have decided to continue with this, on legal grounds,” Jayasurya said in a post on his Facebook page to thank everyone who wished him a happy birthday on August 31.

The first FIR against the actor was registered on August 28 under Section 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Cantonment police station here, following a complaint by a female actor who has acted in a handful of films.

She had made allegations of sexual abuse against well-known actors M Mukesh, who is also an MLA, Jayasurya and Maniyanpilla Raju, and against small-time actor Idavela Babu, who played an important role in the actors’ association AMMA.

“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 woman alleged in her Facebook post.

The second case was filed at the Karamana police station under Sections 354 and 354 C (voyeurism) of the Penal Code following a complaint by another woman actor who alleged that Jayasurya had molested her on a film set near Thodupuzha in 2012-13.

Responding to the lawsuits against him, Jayasurya said in his letter: ”False accusations are easy to make for anyone who has no conscience. I just hope that people realise that facing a false accusation of harassment is as painful as the harassment itself.

”A lie always spreads faster than the truth, but I believe the truth will prevail,” he said. He said he would return to Kerala once his work in America is over and in the meantime all legal proceedings to prove his innocence would continue.

“I have complete confidence in our justice system,” he said, sarcastically thanking “those who contributed to making this anniversary the most painful one.”

He added: “Let those who have not sinned cast stones, but only at those who have sinned.”

Jayasurya is not the only one facing allegations of sexual harassment following the Justice K Hema Committee report that was made public on August 19.

Several FIRs have been registered against many well-known Malayalam film personalities, following allegations of sexual harassment against several directors and actors, following revelations in the commission’s report.

Besides Jayasurya, actors Sidhique, Mukesh, Maniyanpilla Raju, Idavela Babu and director Ranjith, among others, are accused of sexual abuse or harassment.

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

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)