Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 14 (PTI) Keralam-based film director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan on Monday began an indefinite hunger strike outside the state secretariat here, demanding the release of the Hema Committee report and a high-level probe into the irregularities it flagged.
In a Facebook post, Sasidharan said he was taking the step as the Keralam government was not ready to order the “fair investigations” he had sought into various matters, including an alleged conspiracy behind the registration of two cases against him based on complaints by a prominent Malayalam film actress.
The director shared a photo and video on Facebook marking the first day of his indefinite hunger strike.
The photo showed him sitting on a chair outside the Secretariat, with various state film awards he had received displayed on the wall beside him.
In the video, he said he had sought the investigations during the previous Left Democratic Front administration, but no action was taken.
“After the new UDF government came to power, I gave letters to the chief minister (V D Satheesan) and Home Minister (Ramesh Chennithala) in May seeking the investigations. However, no action has been taken till date,” he said.
“Despite my repeated Facebook posts on the issue, the public is not waking up, and the Keralam government is not taking any action. It is not a personal matter; it is a social issue,” he claimed.
Sasidharan was booked in January this year on charges of allegedly harassing the actress on a social media platform.
The police registered a case against him under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for alleged stalking, criminal intimidation and defamation.
Before that, in September last year, he was detained at Mumbai airport after the Keralam police issued a lookout notice against him in connection with a harassment complaint filed by the actress.
In 2022, he was arrested in Neyyattinkara here following a complaint by the actress accusing him of blackmailing her and maligning her reputation through social media. PTI HMP SSK
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