Malayalam actor Siddique, who is facing charges of sexual misconduct, tried to silence the complainant, a female artist, the Kerala High Court said. Coming down heavily on the popular Mollywood star, the court observed that prima facie there was evidence to all accusations levelled against him by the complainant.
The Kerala High Court observed that the complaints levelled against Siddue, a former office bearer of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (A.M.M.A), were serious. There were no reasons for the court to not trust the survivor and it was necessary to interrogate the accused. A potency test should be conducted on Siddiue, Malayalam News 18 quoted the High Court as saying.
When Siddique's lawyer questioned the credibility of the complainant, the court said that being a survivor of sexual atrocities is no ground to mistrust her. The accused repeatedly tried to threaten her into silence, the court added. The defense was also criticised by the court for the defamatory remarks made against her while moving an anticipatory bail petition.
No relief for Siddique
The Kerala High Court had rejected Siddique's anticipatory bail petition. Following the development, a lookout notice has been issued against the actor.
Siddique, who served as the general secretary of A.M.M.A. (The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) had quit after the allegations surfaced.
The complainant, who initially raised allegations against Siddique in 2019, formally lodged a complaint following the release of the Justice K. Hema Committee Report—which shook Mollywood.
Rape allegation against Siddique
Following the release of the Hema Committee report, a young female actor had alleged Siddique of sexual misconduct in 2016.
The complainant had said it was in January or February of 2016 that she was sexually assaulted by the actor during the preview of a movie. The data gathered from the establishment confirmed that the preview did take place, and Siddique was present for the event, ManoramaOnline said in a report.
According to the survivor, she was 21 years old, when the senior actor invited her to Mascot Hotel in Thiruvananthapuram for a discussion. Siddique is accused of sexually assaulting the woman in his room before locking her up. She managed to flee later and was not let out intentionally, the complaint says. According to her complainant, many women in the industry had had similar "bad experiences" from Siddique.