THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Under fire for its languid approach to the revelations made by Justice Hema Committee on sexual exploitation prevailing in Malayalam movie industry, the state government has finally put its foot down and formed a special police investigation team to probe the charges. The seven-member team headed by South Zone IG Sparjan Kumar has four women IPS officers on board.
The other members of the team are Thiruvananthapuram Range DIG S Ajeetha Begum, Crime Branch S P Merin Joseph, Coastal Police AIG G Poonkuzhali, Kerala Police Academy Assistant Director Aishwarya Dongre, AIG Law and Order Ajith V and Crime Branch SP S Madhusoodanan. Crime Branch head ADGP H Venkatesh will monitor the proceedings.
According to the new directive, women cops will handle witness statements and evidence collection, while male officers will assist them with other tasks.
The decision to form the special team was taken during a meeting of senior police officers convened by CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday. The state government had so far maintained that they are open to probing the allegations if the victims are ready to file complaints.
This stance was flayed by the opposition parties as well as legal experts, who felt the government can set the legal ball rolling by registering FIRs suo motu and defacto complainants were required only during the later stage of the legal procedure.
However, the massive uproar against the government's inaction and the legal opinion they got prompted the state government to constitute a special team to probe the allegations.
The sources said the special team will not register First Information Reports (FIR) suo motu, but would rather register cases based on complaints they receive from the aggrieved actresses. The formation of the SIT, sources added, was to encourage the victims to come forward and file their complaints.
"You need a defactor complainant to take the case forward. Hence, one of the purposes behind the SIT is to motivate the victims to officially lodge complaints," stressed sources.
The sources also said that the SIT will not limit its probe to the revelations made by the Hema Committee and would cover all the complaints filed by members of the film fraternity regarding sexual harrasment.
The report by the Justice Hema Committee, constituted by the Kerala government post the 2017 actress assault case, has revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry, prompting calls for action against the guilty.
Rocked by the Justice K Hema Committee's explosive findings of harassment and abuse of women professionals, the Malayalam film industry on Sunday witnessed two high-profile resignations related to the issues.
Director Ranjith stepped down as chairman of state-run film academy Kerala Chalachitra Academy and actor Siddique resigned as general secretary of A.M.M.A (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists).
Even as political pressure was building against Ranjith, actor Siddique resigned from A.M.M.A. amid voices from within his fraternity seeking his resignation.
(With inputs from PTI)
