The Mollywood actress who had accused several Malayalam stars of sexual harassment declared that she has decided to withdraw all complaints due to lack of support from the Kerala government and media.
The Aluva-native actress claimed that the government failed to bring to light the conspiracy behind a fake POCSO allegation levelled against her by a relative. She decided to start the fight for a better tomorrow but a complete inaction from the authorities and media to bring to light the people who orchestrated the allegation made her change her mind, the actress said.
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Veteran actor and Left MLA M Mukesh was on the verge of resigning after the actress leveled sexual assault charges against him. However, the CPI(M) decided that the Kollam MLA need not resign until proven guilty of the charges. Actor-director Balachandra Menon, Jayasurya, Idavela Babu and others were named by the women for having sexually misbehaved with her. Her shocking revelations following the release of the Hema Committee report had rocked Kerala.
The actress's decision to withdraw the cases comes at a time when the accused are all out on bail despite the probe progressing under a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Her decision will be notified to the SIT in writing, she reportedly told ManoramaOnline.
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"I came forward (with the allegations) for the better of the society. My objective was to ensure that no girl should ever be asked to make adjustments (a common cypher used for sexual favours). But the government couldn't prove the fake POCSO case against me. No media came forward to support me. So I am going to withdraw all the cases. Because even after learning the POCSO case against me was bogus, no efforts were made to interrogate that woman (the person who made the complaint) and those controlling her. So, I am retiring from everything," the actor reportedly said in a WhatsApp message. ManoramaOnline later reached out to the artist, who confirmed the development to be true.
The actress was accused by a relative of taking her to Chennai to be presented before several men while she was a minor. The Kerala Police had filed a case against the actress based on this complaint.
The artist had alleged that when she called up actor Idavela Babu to get an Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (A.M.M.A.) membership, he invited her to his flat to fill out a form. While filling out the form, he allegedly kissed her on the neck, following which she left the building immediately, she had said.
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Mollywood's 'MeToo' revelations come in the backdrop of the Hema Committee Report, which revealed alleged sexual abuses and harassment faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. 26 FIRs were registered by the SIT in connection with the revelations in the report.