Kerala, India

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The Kerala government on Sunday (August 25) formed a team of senior police officers to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct involving notable figures in the Malayalam film industry. This comes after Justice Hema Committee released a report which addressed the issues faced by women in the industry.

Actor Siddique resigned from his position as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), and director Ranjith stepped down as chairperson of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, in response to the allegations against them.

What actions has Kerala Chief Minister taken?

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Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan convened a high-level meeting of police officers to review the situation following these allegations.

A seven-member police team, headed by IG Sparjan Kumar and supervised by ADGP H Venkatesh, has been assigned to investigate the complaints. Notably, four of the seven officers are women.

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The Hema Committee report, which had been with the state government for over four years, was finally released last week after prolonged legal challenges and scrutiny by the State Information Commission.

Issues highlighted in the report

The report highlighted several issues faced by women in the film industry, including sexual harassment, inadequate facilities such as women’s toilets, gender bias, unequal pay, and the lack of a formal body to address these issues.

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Following the report's release, the Chief Minister announced on Tuesday that the government would take appropriate action if individuals who testified before the committee come forward with further complaints. He also mentioned plans for a film policy conclave, aligning with one of the report’s recommendations.

(With inputs from agencies)