After Mukesh and Prakash, actor Siddique seeks interim bail – Telangana Today

Siddique, the former general secretary of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes), approached the Kerala High Court seeking interim bail in a rape case filed against him by an actress.

Cochin: The long-delayed release of the Justice Hema Committee's explosive report, which revealed how female artists were sexually exploited in the Malayalam film industry, triggered a flood of complaints against top actors and prompted them to seek interim bail in court.

On Monday, it was Siddique, the former general secretary of AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes), who sought interim bail before the Kerala High Court in a rape case filed against him by an actress.

Siddique stated in his plea that the plaintiff had been harassing him since 2019 by repeatedly alleging on social media that he had attempted to behave sexually inappropriately with her in a theatre in 2016. “It is clear that the de facto plaintiff is aware that a simple allegation of attempted sexual assault is a punishable offence which is bailable. Therefore, the plaintiff could not be taken into custody. To establish a case justifying the arrest and detention of the plaintiff, the de facto plaintiff has now made an allegation of rape,” his plea said.

Last week, actor and now CPI-M MP Mukesh and director VKPakash sought bail and the former was granted interim release from custody till Tuesday.

The 'male hegemony' in the Malayalam film industry came into the open with the release of the Hema Committee report and so far, FIRs have been filed against nine film personalities, including Mukesh, Siddique, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu, Maniyan Pillai Raju, directors Ranjith and Prakash and production managers Vichu and Noble, after complaints were filed by female actresses.

The case against Siddique was filed on the basis of an actress's allegations that he raped her in a government hotel in the national capital. Following her revelation, Siddique resigned from his post at AMMA and a few days later, the entire 17-member AMMA board, led by its president, superstar Mohanlal, resigned, leaving the organisation, which has around 500 actors as its members, headless.

The Malayalam film industry seems to have suffered a major blow with AMMA office-bearers resigning from their posts and fissures opening up in the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) – a confederation of 21 different organisations ranging from luminaries to top-class directors.

All eyes are now on the fate of these bail applications even as the seven-member police investigation team, which includes four women IPS officers, continues to record statements from the victims, especially as Mukesh's case is reopened on Tuesday. However, so far, none of the accused has been summoned to appear before the investigation team.

The Congress parties and the BJP are outraged and claim that the Pinarayi Vijayan government is in cahoots with the perpetrators, although they themselves claim to be on the side of the victims.