Malayalam film actor Nivin Pauly booked for sexual assault; denies allegations

Actor Nivin Pauly was on Tuesday, 3 September booked for the offence of rape on a complaint by a 40-year-old woman that he sexually assaulted her over a year ago in Dubai, an allegation he denied and vowed to take all possible legal measures to prove his innocence.

An officer of Oonnukal police station, where the FIR under section 376 of the IPC was registered, said that there are six accused, including a woman, in the case.

The first accused is a woman and Pauly is the sixth accused, the officer said.

According to the woman, the incident occurred over a year ago in Dubai, the officer said, and declined to give further details.

Hours after the FIR was registered, Pauly, in a Facebook post, said that the allegations were "entirely untrue".

"I'm determined to go to any extent to prove these allegations are baseless and will take all necessary steps to bring those responsible to light. Thank you for your concern. The rest will be handled legally," he said.

Subsequently, he held a press conference where he reiterated that the allegations against him were false and added -- "this is a deliberate allegation and I believe there is a conspiracy behind it".

He further said that he did not know the complainant and had never seen or spoken to her.

The actor said that around one-and-a-half months ago, an officer of Oonnukal police station had called him over the phone and told him that they have received a sexual assault complaint against him from a woman.

"When I denied knowledge about the allegations, the officer said they were convinced that the complaint was false and they were going to close it," he said.

The actor further said that the officer and his lawyer advised him not to file a case against the complainant as some persons make such complaints merely for publicity. "So, I did not pursue that then," he said.

Pauly said he will take all possible legal measures to prove his innocence and will fight it to the very end as he believes that "we need to put a stop to such fake allegations".

"So, I will fight it, not just for me, but for others who might face such fake allegations in the future," he said.

The actor also said that he would file a case against the complainant for trying to defame him and the complaint was being prepared.

He further said that he will cooperate with the investigation and requested the media to ascertain the facts or truth behind the allegations before publicising them. "Such allegations affect our close family. Thankfully, my family's support is with me," he said.

Pauly is among the many actors and directors who are facing allegations of sexual harassment or rape by female actors following the publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report.

The committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.

Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe them.