Malayalam actor Siddique resigns as general secretary of AMMA after allegations of sexual assault

Senior Malayalam actor Siddique on Aug 25 resigned as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), a day after sexual assault allegations were raised by an actress.

A female actor on Aug 24 alleged that Siddique had invited her for a movie discussion where he sexually abused her.

"I was a young entrant in the industry at the time. He invited me into a hotel on the pretext of discussing a film project. Such a movie did not exist. It was a trap. He sexually abused and raped me. He also physically assaulted me. I had to give up my dreams and my time, and I went through a lot of mental trauma,” the actress said during a media briefing.

Siddiqui said he had sent his resignation letter to the President of the organization, Mohanlal.

"Yes. I have tendered my official resignation to the president of the organization, Mohanlal. Since there were allegations against me, I have decided not to continue in the post and resigned," Siddique said while speaking to the media.

In 2019, the female actor had levelled serious allegations against Siddique. She recently spoke against the actor while recalling the incident where she was sexually assaulted by the actor.

The incident happened in 2016 in Thiruvananthapuram, when the actor was 21, after a preview of Siddique’s film, Sukhamariyathe at Nila Theatre. She alleges that the actor urged her to make ‘adjustments.’

Calling him a ‘criminal', she said that the actor had threatened her and said she could do nothing against him as he is very powerful.

The allegations against the actor come close on the heels of the controversy surrounding actor-director and Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman Renjith.

The charges are levelled by a Bengali actor who alleged that the acclaimed filmmaker had behaved inappropriately when she came up for the shooting of a film which he directed.

The accusations of sexual misconduct come following the release of Justice Hema Committee report, which had pointed towards various such cases in the Malayalam film industry.

The report reveals many instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry and calls out for justice for the victims.