Kochi, Nov 4: Just hours after filing a complaint of alleged molestation against Congress MP N Peethambara Kurup, actor Shwetha Menon withdrew it in a dramatic turnaround.
In an emailed statement released to the media late on Sunday, she said her decision came in the wake of repeated public and personal apologies by Kurup, which led her to withdraw “all legal and other actions” against the Parliamentarian. “There’s no pressure whatsoever behind this move,” said the actor in the statement.
Later in the day, she told reporters in Bangalore she decided to withdraw the complaint after the Kurup called her and apologised to her.
Shwetha’s change in stance — barely 10 hours after her statement named Kurup for alleged misbehaviour at a boat race in Kollam on Friday — is also being viewed against the backdrop of protests and comments unleashed by Congress leaders against her.
While offering cover for the MP, local Congress leaders repeatedly questioned the validity of Shwetha’s allegations by pointing at some of her professional decisions. The Kollam District Congress Committee leadership, in a media interaction, questioned her motives and work ethics by highlighting her decision to act in the recent film Kalimannu, which shot the actor in labour. Members of the Youth Congress staged protests against her in Kollam. Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan said the actress could not be treated as a victim in connection with the incident.
Shwetha said the decision followed consultation with her family. However, its implications are open to debate, because the actor, in the first place, never made a formal complaint.
On Sunday, a case was registered against Kurup following a complaint by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI). Kollam East police registered cases under Sections 354 and 354(A) of the IPC, on charges of intent to outrage a woman’s modesty, after a police team recorded the actor's statement at her apartment in Kochi. Shwetha alleged that she was subjected to physical misbehaviour ahead of and during the inauguration of the event.
Kurup, a Congress veteran , denied the allegations and said he had called the actor and her husband to apologise if the incident hurt her and cleared his position on the issue. He told reporters he was only shielding the actor from the crowd that had turned up at the venue.
Television channels have been replaying footage from the event that shows Kurup standing next to the actor and touching her. Shwetha came out in the open with the allegation late on Friday, saying she felt “deeply insulted”.
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