Kochi: The Supreme Court will consider actor Siddique's pre-arrest bail plea in the rape case registered against him by Thiruvananthapuram Museum police. The senior Malayalam actor approached the apex court after the Kerala High Court denied anticipatory bail to him on September 24. The actor is currently absconding from police, confirmed the Special Investigation Team. Though the police intensified the search for Siddique and issued a lookout notice against him, there is no clue about his hideout.
As the actor remained elusive, the complainant made strong allegations against the police. Criticising the police, she alleged that they helped Siddique move to a hideout after the HC denied him bail. The female actor from Thiruvananthapuram also argued that Siddique destroyed the electronic evidence related to the case.
The Kerala government has taken a strong stand against the actor in the case. Manorama News reported that the government would oppose Siddique's anticipatory bail plea in the Supreme Court. The government will inform the SC that granting bail to an influential person like Siddique would endanger the complainant's life. It is reported that a delay in filing the complaint will not affect the case. According to the state government, Siddique committed a serious offence. Additional Solicitor General of India, Supreme Court, Aishwarya Bhati, will appear for the government in the SC.
A bench of Justice Bela Madhurya Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma listed Siddique's plea as the 62nd case on Monday.
Mukul Rohtagi, former solicitor general, will appear for Siddique in the apex court, while Vrinda Grover will represent the complainant.
Museum police in Thiruvananthapuram booked the actor in a rape case after receiving a complaint from a female actor. The young actor filed her complaint against Siddique following the release of the Hema Committee report. The complainant alleged that Siddique raped her at the Mascot Hotel in the capital city on January 28, 2016, after the preview show of a movie. As the court rejected his bail plea, the SIT will likely record the arrest of the accused for an interrogation in the case.
Apart from rape charges, Siddique is also facing charges under IPC Section 506 (criminal intimidation). The young actor came with a complaint against Siddique following the release of the Hema Committee report that exposed violence against women in the Malayalam film industry. As more women raised sexual assault allegations against actors, directors and production controllers, the state government formed a Special Investigation Team to probe into the cases.
The SIT registered around 23 cases over the complaints filed by women in the Malayalam film industry. The police have recovered the maximum evidence in the cases against Siddique. In the evidence collection at the hotel, police confirmed that Siddique and the complainant stayed there during the same period. Citing these, the High Court rejected the actor's anticipatory bail plea.