Malayalam actress who accused Mukesh of rape withdraws complaint: 'If I commit suicide, govt will be responsible'

M Mukesh Pic/Instagram

A 51-year-old Malayalam actress who had levelled sexual abuse allegations against several male actors, including CPI(M) MLA M Mukesh, on Friday said she was not keen on pursuing her complaints due to "lack of support and protection from the Kerala government".

The complainant also alleged "carelessness" on the part of the state government and said she was "mentally exhausted" and therefore, not keen on taking the complaints forward.

"I would like to tell everyone that due to the government's carelessness and lack of protection for a woman who has come forward like this, I have suffered more than I can handle. I am mentally exhausted. They are not helping or protecting a woman.

"Therefore, I do not want to pursue the cases. It is not because I have compromised with anyone," she told reporters.

She claimed she was made an accused in a POCSO case following her complaints against the actors, also including Maniyanpilla Raju and Idavela Babu, and the government did nothing to protect her.

"I am innocent. I want justice. I want the POCSO case against me to be probed thoroughly and quickly. If I commit suicide, the government will be responsible for it," she said.

Later in the day, she reiterated in a Facebook post what she told reporters in the morning.

In the social media post, the woman actor said, "Today, I am planning to make the difficult decision to revoke all cases, including those against MLA, due to the lack of justice in my POCSO case."

"Despite my pleas, the police failed to thoroughly investigate, leaving me feeling helpless and betrayed."

She further claimed that she was the target of "relentless social bullying" which has taken "a devastating toll" on her mental health as malicious rumours labelled her as a mediator of the sex mafia.

"I am standing firm, refusing to be silenced. My demand is clear: resolve the POCSO case first, then I'll proceed with the other cases. Justice must be served. I urge the authorities to take immediate action, ensuring no one else suffers as I have. The POCSO Act 2012 is in place to protect our children. It is time to see it upheld," she said in her post.

The Muvattupuzha police had registered the case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, against the woman actor based on a complaint lodged by her relative.

According to the police, the incident occurred in 2014. The complainant has alleged she was a minor at the time of the incident and that the actor was running a sex racket. She has alleged the woman actor was running a sex racket and had taken her to Chennai for a film audition where she was presented before many people for sexual favours.

The actor had vehemently denied the allegations and claimed that the woman relative owed her some money, and these allegations were to shift attention from her complaint against the high-profile actors.

The actress' allegations against the cinema industry professionals came in the wake of the disclosure of the Justice Hema Committee report which revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry, prompting calls for action against the guilty.

The Justice Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case.

The complete report was placed before the Kerala High Court which directed that it be handed over to the special investigation team (SIT) that was constituted to probe complaints of sexual abuse in the film industry.

Subsequently, 26 FIRs were registered by the SIT in connection with the revelations in the report.