Kerala HC rejects Malayalam actor Siddique’s anticipatory bail application in rape case

An FIR was registered against him following the release of the Justice Hema committee, forcing him to step down from the actors’ body AMMA.

Malayalam film actor Sidhique. (Photo: Facebook)

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of prominent actor Siddique in a rape case which emerged after the release of the Justice Hema committee report.

Last month, the complainant, a young actor, had raised the allegation through the media, following which Siddique was forced to step down as the general secretary of the actors’ outfit Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). Subsequently, the woman filed a complaint with Thiruvananthapuram city police which registered the FIR was registered under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. According to the complaint, the alleged crime happened in 2016 at a hotel in the city.

After the Hema committee report was released last month, a couple of women had filed sexual harassment/rape cases against various film professionals in the industry. Except for Siddique, all of them got anticipatory bail.

The alleged incident had taken place in a hotel room in the state capital in 2016. Police had collected various pieces of evidence from the hotel records which prima facie substantiated the allegation of the woman.

Siddique has denied the allegations, calling it a “criminal conspiracy to tarnish the reputation of the entire Malayalam film industry”.

“I request you to take effective action in this matter to bring out the truth and the perpetrators behind the criminal conspiracy of fabricating and publishing false and scandalous allegations,” he said after the FIR was registered.

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