Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition leader V D Satheesan on Wednesday said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had misled the public about a letter sent to the government by the Hema Commission. The Chief Minister had on August 20 said that Justice Hema had written to the government saying that the confidentiality of the testimonies should be preserved.
"Justice Hema herself did not want the contents to be revealed," the CM had said on August 20 when asked why no action was taken on the basis of the evidence provided by the women in the Malayalam film industry. Satheesan called this "deception" and a "blatant lie". He said the Chief Minister was trying to run away from his responsibilities.
"Justice Hema's letter does not say that the contents should not be divulged. She has only said that if it is published it should be done according to the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court," Satheesan said. And the Supreme Court guidelines want only the names of the victims to be kept anonymous.
"The Chief Minister must have said so assuming that the letter would never see the light of the day," the Opposition Leader added.
Satheesan said that far serious crimes like child abuse had been committed. "There are incidents recorded in the report that call for the invocation of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act," the Opposition Leader said.
Under Section 21 of the POCSO Act, it is a crime to conceal information about sexual abuse. Here is what Section 21, which deals with punishment for failure to report or record a case, says: "Any person, who fails to report the commission of an offence under sub-section (1) of section 19 or section 20 or who fails to record such offence under sub-section (2) of section 19 shall be punished with imprisonment of either description which may extend to six months or with fine or with both."
The Opposition Leader said that by keeping the Hema Commission report under lock and key for over four years, the Chief Minister and the ministers for culture during this period had committed a criminal act. "The CM now says that victims should come forward with complaints. Fact is, even the report says that no action had been taken even after complaints were filed against a caravan driver who had barged into the room of a female actor," he said.
Satheesan said that serial abuse had taken place. "And there is evidence, too," he said. "What stands in the way of an enquiry when victims have already given their statements,"Satheesan said. "Let the CM and the culture minister say what legal hurdle had prevented them from launching an enquiry," he said. The opposition leader wanted a group of women IPS officers to probe the incidents of female abuse in the Malayalam film industry.
