Special Investigation Team Probes Sexual Harassment in Malayalam Film Industry

A Special Investigation Team has been formed to investigate sexual harassment allegations in the Malayalam film industry. The team met to plan the probe's continuation and strengthened their ranks with more women officers. The Kerala Police will handle all related cases.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been established to scrutinize sexual harassment allegations within the Malayalam film industry. The SIT convened at the Kerala Police headquarters on Tuesday to plan the next steps of the investigation, as confirmed by a police statement.

In recent weeks, several women from the industry have come forward with accounts of abuse, prompting Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to call for an urgent meeting with top police officials. This led to the formation of the SIT, now bolstered by additional female officers, tasked with handling all relevant cases transferred from local police stations.

One high-profile case involves actor Minu Muneer, who accused actors M Mukesh, Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Idavela Babu of verbal and physical abuse during film shoots. Her allegations add credence to a redacted version of the Justice Hema Committee report, which detailed the systemic harassment of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.

(With inputs from agencies.)