Kochi: After Kamal Haasan and Aju Varghese, actress Rima Kallingal has been accused of revealing the name of the actress who was assaulted in a moving car near Angamaly in February.
Kallingal posted on Facebook a signed message from the actress on July 13, a complaint lodged by Abdulla Sayani at the Binanipuram police station reads.
Section 228A of the Indian Penal Code prescribes imprisonment of up to two years for anyone who discloses the identity of victims of sexual assault.
Kamal Haasan courted controversy on Wednesday when he unwittingly named the victim during a press conference in Chennai. The actor issued a half-hearted apology in response of a notice from the National Commission for Women. “Can’t name her? Name her after my mother or my daughter. This war will be fought...” he wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Closer home, the police interrogated Aju Varghese for revealing the victim’s name in a Facebook post. The actor apologized and said he was not aware of the legal restraint.
Script writer S.N. Swami is also accused of naming the actress during a televised debate.
Kerala State Women’s Commission chairperson M.C. Josephine has written to her counterpart in Tamil Nadu to take urgent action against the Tamil publications which named the actress and even put out her photographs. Josephine has also written to the Tamil Nadu public relations director.
She warned of strict action against anyone who participated in defamatory campaigns through online media and social networking sites.
The young actress was waylaid on a highway while coming back from work on February 17. She was tortured inside the moving car for close to an hour before being released. She, however, bucked up and lodged a police complaint immediately, leading to the arrest of all the perpetrators and actor Dileep, who is accused of plotting the crime.
Read more: Latest Kerala news | When stars want to be the omnipresent demigods in real life