Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to director-actor V K Prakash in a sexual abuse case. Kollam Pallithottam police charged Prakash under section 354 (assault or usage of criminal force to outrage the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) following a woman scriptwriter’s complaint.

According to the complaint, Prakash sexually assaulted her after inviting her to a hotel in Kollam in the pretest of discussing a film project. The alleged incident happened on April 4, 2022. The scriptwriter, a native of Ernakulam, 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.

Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors in the wake of the Justice Hema Committee report being made public, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe them.