Kerala police tried to cover up case involving Sreejith Ravi: report

Ottappalam: The police failed to act on time when the alleged indecent exposure by Malayalam actor Sreejith Ravi was brought to their notice, an inquiry ordered by Palakkad district collector has revealed.

The investigation found out that the civil police officer (CPO) who was entrusted with the task of conducting the preliminary inquiry failed to carry out the standard procedure.

The officer rudely behaved with the complainants and attempted to cover up the issue, a report submitted by sub-collector P.B. Nooh said.

After seeking an explanation from the police, the report will be submitted to district collector P. Marykutty, it is learned.

The alleged inappropriate conducts by the actor in front of a group of girl students studying at a prominent school in Pathirippalam occurred on August 27. Soon after the incident, the school authorities had lodged a petition with the local police station.

However, the police failed to act on the complaint.

Alleging that the police were intentionally delaying the probe into the case, the school authorities approached the collector.

The police pursued the case seriously only after the sub-collector, as per the directions of the collector, visited the school and recorded the statements of the victims and the teachers on September 1.

Soon, the police also recorded the victims’ statements, and took the accused into custody from a film shooting location at Pallavoor, near Ottapalam.

The actor, who was booked under various sections of the IPC including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), was granted bail on Friday.

In the petition, the victims alleged that a man had come by in a car, stopped near the Pathirippalam market and exposed himself while they were on their way to school.

The police registered an FIR against an unidentified person based on a complaint by the school principal. Police arrested the actor after a car registration number mentioned in the complaint was traced back to him.