Malayalam actor Pauly files complaint with police to investigate allegations of sexual assault

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two days after actor Nivin Pauly denied allegations of sexual assault made by a woman against him and five others, the rising star filed a complaint with the state police chief demanding an investigation into what he described as “baseless” allegations.

A complaint was filed with the Oonukal police on Tuesday based on a complaint filed by the SP of Ernakulam Rural police, to whom the woman had first complained about the sexual assault in Dubai.

A few hours after it became known that the police had taken up the case, Pauly (40) appeared before the media and denied the allegations, saying that he had never seen or spoken to the plaintiff.

Pauly said he will do everything he can to prove his innocence in this matter and will fight the case not only for himself but also for people who face similar allegations from women.

Pauly filed the complaint before the SPC on Thursday, calling for a thorough investigation into the allegations.

His complaint comes at a time when an FIR has been filed naming him as the sixth accused in the alleged attack on the woman in Dubai, which also includes producer AK Sunil.

Although Pauly described the allegations as baseless, the plaintiff assured that she too would fight the case and prove the truth of her statement.

She had stated that after the Hema Judicial Committee report surfaced last month, she had heard about the numerous complaints filed and had therefore decided to file a new complaint against Pauly.

Pauly, who has won two Kerala Film Awards, started out as a software developer before entering the film industry in 2010. He has directed over 50 films, some of which have become box office hits.

In 2016, he became the producer of the film “Action Hero Biju”, which was released under his label Pauly Jr. Pictures and became a huge success.

Trouble has been brewing in the Malayalam film industry since the Hema Justice Committee's report was released last month after a long delay, exposing rampant sexual exploitation of women in the film world.

The Kerala Police have so far filed FIRs against 11 persons, including nine from the film industry, based on complaints from actresses.

Among those in the dock are actor and current CPI(M) MP Mukesh Madhavan, Siddique, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu and Maniyanpilla Raju, directors Ranjith and VK Prakash and production managers Vichu and Noble.

Mukesh, Renjith and Raju are among those granted legal redress by the court.