THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The police team investigating the allegations of sexual misconduct outlined in the Hema Committee report will seek to drop charges in as many as a dozen cases due to the victims’ refusal to cooperate with the legal proceedings.
More than 40 cases were registered based on the committee’s findings, which revealed widespread sexual exploitation of women artists in the Malayalam film industry.
Police sources indicated that in about 12 cases, victims refused to have their statements recorded by the magistrate under CrPC 164.
“We are examining all the cases where the victims refused to cooperate with the investigation. We will refer these cases to the courts to request that further proceedings be dropped,” said the source, adding that the Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed to oversee the probe into sexual harassment complaints, will meet this week to take a final call on the matter.
“We will examine all the legal aspects in each case and determine which should be dropped,” an officer said.
The police initiated these cases based on the findings and complaints lodged by the victims.
Many of those who have expressed reluctance to proceed with their complaints are the ones who had given their statements before the committee. The complainants in the 12 cases refused to provide their statements to the investigating officers, and did not appear before the magistrate, despite having received notices, sources added.
Meanwhile, legal proceedings will continue in cases where written complaints were submitted. The police have registered cases against director Renjith and actors Mukesh, Jayasurya and Siddique for sexually abusing artists based on written complaints.