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KOCHI: The MeToo wave that has rocked Mollywood following the release of the Justice Hema Committee report took a decisive turn on Thursday after the police registered a case against Mukesh for rape. The CPM MLA and actor, however, soon secured interim relief from arrest.
In all, the police filed six cases in Kochi and one in Thiruvananthapuram on the day based on the complaint of an actress who worked in Malayalam and Tamil films. Besides Mukesh, actor-producer Maniyanpilla Raju and actor Edavela Babu were charged with rape by the police in Kochi, while the Cantonment police booked actor Jayasurya for the offence of outraging the modesty of a woman.
Hours after the case was registered against him in Maradu police station, Mukesh moved an anticipatory bail plea in the Ernakulam District Principal Sessions Court, which directed the police not to initiate arrest procedure till September 3.
Mukesh has been booked under IPC Section 376 (1) for rape; Section 354 for outraging the modesty of a woman; Section 452 for house trespass with the intent to hurt or assault someone and Section 509 for insulting a woman’s modesty by using words, gestures, or acts. The allegation is that the complainant was sexually harassed at a villa in Maradu when she reached there to apply for a membership of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). Mukesh was claimed to be an office-bearer of AMMA at the time.
At the sessions court, advocate Geo Paul, representing Mukesh, submitted that the alleged incident took place in 2010, and that the complainant had sought financial help from the actor. He said no sexual harassment as alleged by the complainant took place. He also produced copies of the WhatsApp chats claiming that the complainant sought Rs 1 lakh as financial aid and sent her bank account details. There were also chats claiming that the victim had “appreciated” Mukesh’s “decency” and volunteered to mediate in the actor’s matrimonial issues.
Paul said the woman, a law graduate, did not lodge a complaint even 13 years after the alleged incident. He submitted that Mukesh was ready to cooperate with the probe and will appear before the investigation officer. The public prosecutor, meanwhile, sought time to file a report. “Taking note of the situation that there may not be chances to flee away from the clutches of law, the Investigation Officer (is) directed that petitioner shall not be arrested till September 3. Awaiting report and further hearing will be on September 2,” read the court diary entry.
cops to summon accused for quizzing soon
The case against Edavela Babu was registered in the Ernakulam North police station under IPC Section 376 (1) for rape and Section 354 for outraging the modesty of the woman. It is alleged the victim was called to Babu’s apartment in Kaloor twice to apply for AMMA membership in 2009. In the first incident, Babu allegedly made sexual advances towards her. In the second, he allegedly raped her. Maniyanpilla Raju was booked by the Fort Kochi police for allegedly making sexual advances towards the victim while she was staying at a hotel in Fort Kochi for a film shoot in 2009.
In Thiruvananthapuram, the Cantonment police booked Jayasurya for outraging the modesty of a woman. It is alleged that he sexually harassed the actress while shooting for a film on the Secretariat premise in 2008.
The police have sought the details of the shooting from the general administration department and will soon file a request before the government seeking permission to collect evidence from the corridor of the Secretariat where the shooting was held. They will record the statements of actor-director Balachandra Menon and other cast and crew of the film. They have sought the magistrate court’s permission to record the secret statement of the complainant. Upon getting the nod, they are likely to record her statement on Monday.
Meanwhile, Advocate V S Chandrasekharan, who resigned as president of the Lawyers Congress State Committee, too has been booked for rape on the actress’ complaint, alleging that she was taken to a resort on the pretext of checking the location for a shoot. The case against Chandrasekharan was registered in Ernakulam Central police station. Production executives Nobel and Vichu were booked by the Ernakulam North and Nedumbassery police stations, respectively, for molesting the complainant.
The police will soon summon the accused persons for interrogation. Though the FIRs are registered at different police stations, a special investigation team (SIT) is handling the probe.
