A special team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Feroke) A.M. Siddique will probe the incident in which two women actors were allegedly sexually assaulted at a mall by some people in the crowd while they were leaving after attending a movie promotion function there on Tuesday night. Deputy Commissioner of Police A. Sreenivas told the media here on Wednesday that the CCTV visuals were examined in connection with the complaint filed by the actors whose statement will also be recorded.
The incident came to public attention following the social media post of one of the actors about the harrowing experience and how she was dumbstruck and frozen out of shock for some time. "Someone from the crowd grabbed me. It disgusts me to mention where. Are people around us so frustrated? I had been to many places for film promotion, but did not have such a dreadful experience anywhere else," she said in her social media post which ended with a question to the culprits "Are you now cured of your itch?"
The other actor too was harassed, to which she responded by slapping the culprit on the spot. She too shared her experience online, and the visuals of the incident have gone viral on social media.
A senior police officer said the statement of one of the victims was recorded and that of the other person, who is in Kochi now, would be recorded soon. A woman constable was already deployed for the same.
“Based on the statements, FIR will be launched and the IPC sections can be known only after that. A producer has sent a complaint via email but it was a bit vague. So, we decided to record the victims’ statements at the earliest to make the case stronger,” he said.
Efforts to identify and trace the culprits based on the CCTV visuals were also on, sources added.
Meanwhile, P. Sathidevi, Chairperson of the Kerala Women's Commission, has flayed the incident and demanded immediate action from the part of the police to nab the culprits. She said that incidents of sexual attacks against women in crowds are on the rise and the Kerala society should view the incident with caution. The organisers should also take necessary steps to offer protection to the guests in such events, Ms. Sathidevi added.
(with inputs from PTI)
