Actor-Legislator M Mukesh Arrested In Rape Case By SIT And Released On Bail

CPI(M) MLA and actor M Mukesh was arrested by Special Investigation Team (SIT), on Tuesday, September 24, in a sexual assault complaint filed by a female artist. But he was soon released on bail as he had secured anticipatory bail from an Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court earlier this month.

As per reports, Mukesh was accompanied by his lawyer, and was questioned by the SIT in Ernakulam, for three hours. After registering his arrest, he was taken for medical check-up in his own vehicle.  

This came after his colleague Siddique was denied anticipatory bail by the Kerala High Court in a rape case filed by a female actor, in the wake of the Hema Committee report.

What were the allegations against M Mukesh?

Last month, a female actress levelled sexual abuse allegations against four actors including M Mukesh.

The actress detailed her horrific experiences with these celebs in a Facebook post. She said she was subjected to verbal and physical abuse while working for a project and they were the reason why she left the Malayalam film industry. While speaking to the media, she said that Mukesh asked her for sexual favours in exchange for membership in the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA).

She claimed meeting Mukesh while shooting the film Calender. ''During the shoot, he asked me to come to his home in Vyttila. When I refused, he implied that everyone makes such compromises. Later, when I approached Innocent for help to secure AMMA membership, he directed me to someone else. However, Mukesh later confronted me, asking, ‘You are trying to get into AMMA without my knowledge? Nothing happens in Malayalam cinema without my knowledge,’” said the actress. 

What did Mukesh say on the allegations levelled against him?

Mukesh rubbished the accusations, and said he was being politically targeted and claimed that the allegations were 'untrue'.

In a press release, he said, "In response to the allegations raised against me and other film industry colleagues, I welcome the ongoing investigations. A fair and transparent inquiry is crucial to uncover the truth behind the accusations being discussed in the public domain.''

The actor also claimed that the woman actor had attempted to blackmail him and sought financial aid from him.

Based on the complaint of an alleged rape of the actress, Mukesh was booked by Maradu police on August 29.

What did the court say while granting anticipatory bail to Mukesh?

Mukesh was granted anticipatory bail on September 5, by the sessions court in Ernakulam, with the condition that he should cooperate with the investigation team.

While granting bail, the court observed that the complainant, in her first statement, had not mentioned about a forcible sexual intercourse, but claimed about use of force only after initial hearing of the bail plea.

Judge Honey M Varghese, who examined the accuracy of the allegations for considering the pre-arrest bail plea, said, “There is a clear distinction between rape and consensual sex”.

The court also said, “No element of forcible intercourse was mentioned in the first statement. In the further statement, recorded after the initial hearing of the bail application, she said she was subjected to forcible intercourse. Nothing to mention in the statement regarding coercion and instigation''.

“She (the complainant) accompanied him to get membership (in AMMA). The only contention of the woman was that her consent was obtained on the strength of a promise of membership in the association,'' it stated further.