Hema Committee report: UDF demands apology from Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 21 (PTI) The opposition Congress-led UDF on Wednesday rejected Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's claim that Justice Hema had herself requested that the expert panel's report on the film industry not be made public, calling it a 'blatant lie' and 'hypocrisy'.

Addressing a press conference here, opposition leader V D Satheesan said Justice Hema, who helmed the three-member panel, had never asked the government not to release it.

The CM tried to mislead everyone by telling lies, and his reply that the government had always been with the victims was nothing but "hypocrisy", he alleged.

The Leader of the Opposition also released the purported letter Justice Hema reportedly sent to the government.

Accusing the government of protecting the "hunters" for the last four and a half years after the panel submitted its report, he further charged that Vijayan's expectation was that the letter would never come out.

"In the letter, the Hema committee had not asked the government not to release the report but to follow the directions of the Supreme Court while releasing it," he said.

The direction of the apex court is not to disclose the names of victims, but it is not an obstacle to taking action on the report.

"This is nothing new. This is not a bar to taking action on the report. There are references to incidents in the report that require prosecution even under POCSO Act," Satheesan said.

It is also a criminal offence if a person, who knows that a crime has been committed, conceals it or fail to report it, he pointed out and accused the Chief Minister and other ministers of committing the offence by sitting on it silently without taking any action.

The LoP further alleged that a series of crimes had taken place, and there is evidence to prove the same.

So, a team of women IPS officers should investigate the case, he demanded.

But the CM is "lying" without being prepared for an investigation, he charged.

The LoP called on Chief Minister Vijayan to apologise for his allegedly misleading claims about the letter penned by Justice Hema.

He warned the government of street protests if it doesn't act upon the report findings.

Satheesan also urged the CM and the Law Minister to explain what the legal hurdles were in registering cases when there are statements of victims.

Meanwhile, the Mahila Congress workers took out a march to the DGP office here demanding action upon revelations in the Hema Committee report.

Rajya Sabha MP Jebi Mather, the president of the outfit, said the government should entrust a team of women IPS officers to probe the case.

The opposition's statements came a day after Chief Minister Vijayan had refuted the allegations that his government sat on the Justice Hema Committee report for over four years and said it has given utmost importance to the implementation of the recommendations by the panel.

He had said the police have always taken action whenever complaints in connection with the film industry are received and assured that the unconditional support of the government was with the victims.

The Justice Hema Committee report, which has recorded explosive accounts of harassment, exploitation and ill-treatment of female professionals in the film industry, has triggered a political storm in Kerala.

Among other revelations, the report released on Monday, also mentioned quoting victims that a "criminal gang" was controlling the industry where unyielding women are squeezed out. PTI