Malayalam film industry faces Me Too storm: Second case of sexual assault filed against actor Jayasurya

Malayalam film industry Me Too: The Kerala Police have registered a second case of sexual assault against Malayalam film actor Jayasurya, less than two days after the first case of sexual misconduct was registered against him on August 28, PTI reported.

The police told the news agency that the new FIR has been registered under Sections 354 and 354C of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). These sections deal with assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty; and voyeurism, respectively.

The case was registered on August 29 at Karamana police station in Thiruvananthapuram based on the complaint by an actress, as per the report. The complainant alleged that Jayasurya molested her at a movie set near Thodupuzha during 2012-2013.

Meanwhile, in the first case, the cantonment police in Thiruvananthapuram confirmed to PTI on August 29 that a case under the same section was registered against Jayasurya.

Malayalam film industry's Me Too moment

Multiple FIRs have been registered against a number of high-profile Malayalam film industry personalities after the Justice K Hema Committee report revealed wide-scale allegations of sexual harassment against various directors and actors, the report noted.

Late on August 29, a rape case was registered against prominent Malayalam actor and ruling CPI(M) MLA Mukesh based on an actress' complaint alleging that he sexually assaulted her years ago.

Before that, on August 28, Thiruvananthapuram Museum police booked actor Siddique for allegedly raping an actress in a hotel eight years ago. Following this, Siddique resigned as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA).

The first case, under IPC Section 354, was against director Ranjith based on a complaint by an actress from West Bengal about an incident in 2009. After the news broke, Ranjith resigned from his post as chairman of the state-run Kerala Chalachitra Academy.

Justice K Hema Committee Report, Probe

The Justice Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case. The report, released this month, revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry.

Amidst allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe them. Subsequently, more complaints surfaced.

(With inputs from PTI)