Woman journalist files complaint against Malayalam actor BJP leader Suresh Gopi
The incident; Suresh Gopi put his hand on the shoulder of the woman journalist who had posed a couple of questions
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A woman journalist in Kerala on Saturday demanded legal action against Malayalam actor and BJP senior leader Suresh Gopi for his alleged inappropriate behaviour with her during a media interaction in Kozhikode the other day,
The journalist submitted a complaint to the Kozhikode City Police Commissioner Rajpal Meena on Saturday demanding action against the actor. In her complaint, she alleged Suresh Gopi’s actions amounted to outraging the modesty of women and harassment at the workplace. The complaint will be handed over to Nadakkavu police station in the city under whose jurisdiction the incident took place.
The cops have gathered the video footage of the said incident from the hotel premises. These visuals will be examined by Cyber Cell.
The Kerala State Women's Commission chairperson Sathi Devi has directed the Kozhikode district police chief to take appropriate action on the complaint filed by the female journalist at the earliest. The Commission will initiate steps to ensure the safety of female journalists at the workplace.
The incident; Suresh Gopi put his hand on the shoulder of the woman journalist who had posed a couple of questions to him during the media interaction. Taken aback by his behaviour, the journalist stepped back. But he put his hand on her shoulder yet again and she had to physically remove it.
With the incident snowballing into a major controversy, Suresh Gopi apologised for his behaviour. The actor-turned-politician and former Rajya Sabha MP said he did not touch the journalist's shoulder with bad intentions and that he only had fatherly love for her.
Later in a Facebook post, Suresh Gopi apologized to the journalist.
"I did not touch the journalist's shoulder with a malicious intention. I've always had only fatherly love for journalists. There is no evil intention in it," he said.
Meanwhile, the journalist rejected Suresh Gopi's apology. She said the actor's statement seemed to be an explanation and not an apology. “It is not Suresh Gopi who has to decide whether it was a bad touch or not. I felt his touch was bad and that's why I reacted in that manner," the journalist said.
She said no journalist should experience a similar situation at the workplace in future.
Meanwhile, The Network of Women in Media, Kerala, a collective of women journalists, strongly condemned the incident. "The indecent behaviour on the part of BJP leader and actor Suresh Gopi towards journalist is highly condemnable."
Placing his hand on a female reporter's shoulder, his body language is extremely authoritative and violent. According to the Prevention of Crimes Against Women Act (POSH Act 2013), this can only be seen as an encroachment on the workplace.
The NWMI has urged the state government to take immediate legal action considering this as a serious offence. The NWMI has also asked the employer to take appropriate legal action since it's an act of workplace violence.