Mollywood actor who was molested by two youth at a mall in Kochi took to Instagram and said that she accepts the duo’s apology.
“I acknowledge and accept the person’s will to extend an apology. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the police and media who acted with immediate effect. I would also like to thank my family, friends and everyone who reached out to me with kind words of support,” wrote the actor.
She added that the support gave her and her family strength through this. “I’m acknowledging that there are two other families going through a tough time as well. To all the people who shared their personal experience with me, I empathise with you and I hope you find strength,” she adds.
The incident happened on December 17. The actor was shopping at a mall in Kochi with her family when two men walked past her in “a generously spaced aisle in Lulu hypermarket, which barely had people crowding, and one of them, not so accidentally, grazed his hands” on her back while walking past her. “Because it caught me off guard, I couldn’t react immediately. I wanted to give him the benefit of a doubt but you know when something is just not right, you feel it,” she wrote.
Although the actor thought she had imagined it at first, her sister witnessed the incident too. The actor, who went blank for a minute trying to process the situation tried to confront the men but they disregarded her. “Though I made sure that they knew that I understood what had happened, I was still so angry because I couldn’t say anything,” the actor said.
She wrote that the men, trying to strike a conversation with her, began following her and her sister. “Trying to get closer as he spoke, he wanted to know the names of the movies I have been part of,” she said. The men walked away when they saw the actor’s mother approaching them. The actor, who expressed her disappointment at not reacting against the men who dared to misbehave with her, urged women to react strongly in such instances.
“Being a woman has been very tiring, to be on guard every minute as you step out of your house. To watch my clothes when I bend and turn. To guard my chest with my arms in a crowd. And on the days I’m home, I worry about my mother, my sister, my friends who have to do the same things. It is all because of these sick men. You take away our safety. You take away our comfort and the joy of our womanhood. I despise you.” Addressing men, she added, “If you have done anything remotely inappropriate to a woman, know that you are the lowest form of life and you don’t deserve anything but hell.” Moreover, to all the women reading her post, she said, “I hope you have the courage to give a tight slap on the face of such men.”
Meanwhile, the Kerala Women’s Commission had filed a suo moto case in this regard. Officers of the Kalamassery police station, while talking to the media after checking the footage from the shopping mall, said that the men were identified and that they were youngsters. “They inappropriately touched her,” an official said.
The youths accused of molesting the actor initially denied the allegations made against them as police released the video footage of the duo, identified as Irshad and Adhil, on Saturday.
Both youths are hailing from Perinthalmanna in Malappuram. In a video, the duo said that they did not assault the actor at the mall. The youths said that they had gone to Thrissur and from there they headed towards Ernakulam for a job-related purpose. “Since we had some time to spare before catching the return train back, we decided to go to Lulu Mall,” one of the youth said in the video.
“We spotted the actor shopping at hypermarket inside the mall. At first, we did not recognize her but later confirmed it when we saw a family was clicking photos with her. My friend approached her sister to ask whether the lady was an actor and how many movies she has acted in, the sister replied that she has acted in four films. Why are you asking such questions? On hearing her tone, we quietly left,” he said. When asked about touching the actor, the man said, “While walking, we accidentally touched her. It was not on purpose.” The duo said that after the news broke, they went into hiding after receiving legal advice.
Kalamassery Police will produce the accused before the court on Monday.