KOCHI: The police have decided to send a team to Dubai to collect evidence and record statements as part of the investigation into the rape case registered against actor Nivin Pauly and five others on a woman’s complaint. The special investigation team, after reviewing the status of the probe recently, decided to extend the probe to Dubai where the alleged crime took place.
Nivin is the sixth accused in the case registered by the Oonnukkal police. Other accused are a woman Shreya, producer A K Sunil, and Binu, Basheer and Kuttan. The allegation is that Nivin and the others sexually harassed the survivor at a hotel in Dubai in December last year after promising her a role in a film.
“Since the incident took place in Dubai, the place of occurrence has to be inspected, and statements of the hotel employees and documents examined. Verification will also be completed through the Indian Embassy in the UAE. Only after receiving the nod from the higher-ups will the probe team go abroad,” said a police officer.
The police are verifying whether Nivin toured Dubai at the time of the alleged crime, and will soon record his statement. The actor has denied the allegation.
Meanwhile, the police recently recorded further statements of the survivor following contradictions in her first statement. “The victim has now cited a different date and place of occurrence of the crime. We have to verify it after speaking to witnesses and accused persons,” said the officer.
Cases against YouTubers
The police on Monday booked 12 YouTubers for revealing the identity of the woman who lodged the rape complaint against Nivin. The cases were registered on a complaint by the survivor and her family about defamatory videos being made against her.
“We examined the videos and found them highly defamatory and against the law followed in sexual assault cases. We have registered a case against 12 YouTubers who made videos and reels revealing the victim’s identity. More videos are being examined and more cases will be registered in the coming days,” said a police officer.
Ever since the case against Nivin, many YouTubers have posted videos on social media mentioning the victim’s name and questioning the authenticity of her complaint. In several videos, her pictures and videos were also used.
Mandate contract for film employees: WCC
KOCHI: The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) has demanded the mandate of contracts for both term and daily wage employees in the cinema industry. The contract should specify the film title, employer and employee details, the collective said in a social media post. It said the remuneration and payment terms, work profile, work terms and credits should be specified in the contract. A film industry-approved contract template for cast and crew should be prepared and a breach of contract should be reported, it adds.
