Secret confession of Mollywood actresses; what next for accused Malayalam actors?

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After passing over the confidential statements of actresses to the magistrate, police will now move to arrest the accused involved in sexual misconduct within the film industry. The preliminary statement will be recorded on Wednesday.

The arrest will be made after verifying the facts, collecting the available scientific and circumstantial evidence. The statement of the Bengali actress who levelled allegations against director Ranjith will be recorded online. If it is difficult for the complainant to reach Kerala, the police will apply for a confidential statement in the Bengal court. The next step will be in the case against Siddique. The accused have started seeking anticipatory bail.

17 complaints of sexual assault have been received so far. The last one was filed against director Sudheesh by a serial actress at Kadinamkulam police station. On Tuesday, actress Minu Muneer filed a complaint against seven people within the film industry.

Cases taken up at local stations will be handed over to special investigation teams. The meeting chaired by DGP Sheikh Darvesh Saheb also decided to include more women police in the team.

Statements of actors making allegations on social media will be considered. If clear evidence is handed over, a case will be filed even if there is no complaint. A system will also be set up for victims to file confidential statements. Through this, the victims can avoid their visit to the police station.

IG G Sparjan Kumar should report the progress of the investigation to Crime Branch Chief H. Venkatesh daily. ADGPs Manoj Abraham, MR Ajithkumar, H Venkatesh, S Sreejith and IG G Sparjan Kumar also participated in Tuesday's review meeting.

The investigation team will face certain hardships since the CCTV visuals in old complaints are difficult to acquire. This will prove to be difficult for the team to prove the veracity of the allegations.