Kollam: Kerala police on Thursday registered a case against Malayalam director V K Prakash over a sexual assault complaint filed by a woman scriptwriter. Kollam Pallithottam police booked Prakash under section 354 (1) of the Indian Penal Code for assault or using criminal force to outrage the modesty of a woman, relevant to the time of the alleged crime, after recording the secret statement of the complaint.
This was the tenth case registered against an individual in the Malayalam film industry since a wave of Me Too allegations hit the field following the release of the Hema Commission report.
On Wednesday, Prakash approached the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail, alleging that the woman was accused in a previous honey trap case. “I have filed a plaint with the DGP and the probe team citing this,” he said in his bail plea.
It was on Monday that a scriptwriter, a native of Ernakulam, claimed that Prakash sexually assaulted her after inviting them to a hotel in Kollam to discuss a film project. The alleged incident happened on April 4, 2022. She said that the director made unwanted advances, including attempting to kiss her and push her onto the bed. She added that he also sent her Rs 10,000 as a bribe to keep the incident under wraps.
