Kochi (Kerala): Actor Nivin Pauly has been 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 on Tuesday, 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. Speaking to PTI, she said, "I went for an interview with him (Producer A K Sunil) at a hotel in Dubai, where he sexually assaulted me. Actor Nivin Pauly, along with Binu, Basheer, and Kuttan—these goons—came and locked me in a room for three days and assaulted me."
She also claims that she had filed a complaint with the police in Dubai, but the matter was not pursued due to a lack of evidence. "The initial response from the police was not very supportive. It was only after the government announced a Special Investigation Team that I decided to file the complaint again. The investigation team informed me that they would come to record my statement," she says.
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.
— Nivin Pauly (@NivinOfficial) September 3, 2024
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. However, the woman says, "Nivin Pauly claims the allegation is fake because my phone, which has all the evidence, is with him. That is why confidently he says that he doesn't know me and he didn’t do anything. But I am ready to go to any lengths to seek justice."
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 would 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.
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