Hema Committee Report: Unredacted version submitted to SIT ahead of its meeting today
Thiruvananthapuram: The complete, unredacted version of the Hema Committee report has been submitted to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) as directed by the Kerala High Court. The government handed over the full report to SIT head and Crime Branch Chief H Venkatesh. A meeting of the special team investigating the cases is scheduled to take place in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
During the meeting, the team will review the statements in the report and decide whether to file any cases based on the findings.
The High Court has instructed the government to file an affidavit detailing the actions the SIT plans to take concerning the report. The Court will review the Hema Committee report only after receiving this affidavit and will revisit the matter on October 3. It had also ordered that the full report be provided to the investigation team, while considering petitions demanding action on the crimes, including sexual assault, mentioned in the report. The High Court also directed Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup to notify the government about the need for a strong follow-up on the report.
The SIT and other relevant departments are expected to act on the report’s findings while respecting the rights of both victims and the accused. The court has also advised the media to remain vigilant about the same.
With the unredacted version of the report now in the hands of the special investigation team, it is anticipated that cases will be filed against the cinema personalities mentioned in the report. The SIT had previously registered cases based on media disclosures, not directly from the Hema Committee report. However, once the full report is reviewed, if it contains names and there is evidence or statements against those individuals, cases may be filed.
The special investigation team was appointed following media revelations by actors and others including junior artists, not directly based on the Hema Committee report. Cases were registered after gathering statements from those who made disclosures. Currently, 23 cases have been filed.
While the report included numerous statements, it does not specify who provided them. The unredacted version of the report is expected to identify the individuals who gave statements and the subjects of those statements. The investigating team will need to review these details, re-interview the complainants if necessary, and decide whether to file more cases. The report also indicates that minors have been exploited, which may require considering POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) cases.
A detailed assessment will be completed within two weeks to determine which issues can be legally pursued. More actions will be based on the statements recorded in the report. These matters will be thoroughly discussed at the meeting of the investigation team scheduled to take place in Thiruvananthapuram.