Actor Siddique appears at Cantonment Police station in Thiruvananthapuram for questioning in 2016 rape case

Actor Siddique questioned in rape case on October 12, 2024 amid Malayalam film industry scandal, facing allegations of assault in 2016.

Actor Siddique turned up for questioning in a rape case at the Cantonment Police station in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday (October 12, 2024).

Also read: Tracking the fallout of the Hema Committee Report

Mr. Siddique arrived at the Station House along with actor Biju Pappan. He refused to speak to the phalanx of television news crews who mobbed him for a comment and entered the police station in a hurry. 

A special investigation team (SIT) has been investigating the veteran actor on allegations of raping an aspiring artiste in a hotel room in the city in 2016. 

In the aftermath of the recent publication of the 2019 K. Hema Committee report, which documented reportedly pervasive sexual exploitation, abuse and misogyny in the Malayalam film industry, several women, many of them cinema role aspirants or relatively junior artists, including Mr. Siddique’ ‘s accuser had come out in conventional and social media, against their alleged aggressors. 

Subsequently, the government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising three women IPS officers, to probe the accusations. Mr. Siddique’s accuser gave a sworn in-camera statement before a magistrate. 

The SIT escorted her to the suspected crime scene, including a room in the government-owned five-star hotel where the offence allegedly unfolded, and submitted a crime scene report in court. They also confiscated the hotel’s booking visitor’s register for the year.