Thiruvananthapuram. A rape case has been registered against Malayalam film actor Siddique after an actress accused him of sexual harassment, police said on Wednesday. An FIR was registered against the actor at the Museum police station under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, a senior police official said. Since the crime took place in 2016, the case was registered under the Indian Penal Code.
Various directors and actors have been accused of sexual harassment following the revelations made in the Justice Hema Committee report. This is the second FIR against a ‘high profile’ personality from the film industry since then. The first case was registered against director Ranjit under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code on a complaint by a West Bengal actress. This complaint has been made in connection with an incident of 2009.
The actress has alleged that the director had touched her inappropriately after inviting her to act in the film ‘Paleri Manikyam’ in 2009. Ranjit resigned from the post of President of Kerala Chalachitra Academy over these allegations. Siddiqui also resigned from the post of General Secretary of ‘Malayalam Movie Artists Association’ (AMMA) after the allegations against him. The report of the Justice Hema Committee constituted by the Kerala government after the attack on an actress in 2017 has revealed cases of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry.