Hema panel report: Film employees federation says it won't protect accused members

Kochi: The Film Employees Federation of Kerala on Saturday said it won't protect members who were found to be facing allegations with regard to the Justice Hema Committee report and they would be suspended from it if arrested.

Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) itself would provide relevant information to police in this connection if it comes to know about any such complaints, it's general secretary B Unnikrishnan said here.

FEFKA is the apex body of 21 trade unions working at various levels of the Malayalam film industry.

Unnikrishnan admitted that some of the Association members were also facing allegations.

"We won't take any immediate action if just FIR is lodged against any of our members. But, if the police later file any report, the court makes any mention against the person or he is arrested, the individual will be suspended from the Association," he said.

The filmmaker also rejected allegations that the Association remained silent over the shocking revelations in the expert panel report.

He said a majority of the committee members wanted to collect the opinion of all 21 unions which are part of the association before making an official statement on the report which has far-reaching consequences in the industry.

"Ours is the only union which has demanded that the names of the persons who had been mentioned in the report should come out...The accused persons should also go through the legal process," Unnikrishnan said.

He said in his opinion, Justice Hema, as a retired judge, should have taken action as soon as cognizable crimes were reported before her.

He said the association decided to expand its core committee to address the issues and complaints raised by women.

The publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report on harassment and abuse in the Malayalam film industry has opened a can of worms with several female actors stepping forward with disturbing accounts of the mistreatment they faced at the hands of their various male counterparts.

The government announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe the allegations made in the wake of the Justice Hema Committee report being published.

Following that, more complaints surfaced against many actors and directors.