Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala police have decided to take suo motu cognizance of sexual assault cases falling under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act mentioned in the Hema Committee report. The report included at least two witness statements that pertain to POCSO-related offences, said sources.
For other instances of sexual assaults mentioned in the report, cases will be registered only if the survivors are willing to pursue legal action. If they choose not to proceed, the probe team will collect written statements affirming their decision, which will be submitted to the High Court for further direction.
While the police have received the full version of the committee report following a recent High Court order, they are yet to obtain the digital evidence and copies of witness statements.
Major evidence, currently held by the Home Ministry, is expected to be handed over to the investigation team by Tuesday, reported Manorama News. A final decision on registering POCSO cases will be made after reviewing the complete witness statements.
So far, 23 cases have been registered against prominent figures in the Malayalam film industry based on allegations of sexual assault by their female colleagues in the wake of the Hema Committee report release. The Kerala government constituted the committee in 2019 to analyse the issues faced by women in the Malayalam cinema field at the request of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC).