The youths accused of molesting Mollywood actor at a Kochi mall on Friday, have denied all allegations made against them. Police released the video footage of the duo, identified as Irshad and Adhil, on Saturday.
Both youths are hailing from Perinthalmanna in Malappuram. In a video, the duo said that they did not assault the actor at the mall. The youths said that they had gone to Thrissur and from there they headed towards Ernakulam for a job-related purpose. “Since we had some time to spare before catching the return train back, we decided to go to Lulu Mall,” one of the youth said in the video.
“We spotted the actor shopping at hypermarket inside the mall. At first, we did not recognize her but later confirmed it when we saw a family was clicking photos with her. My friend approached her sister to ask whether the lady was an actor and how many movies she has acted in, the sister replied that she has acted in four films. Why are you asking such questions? On hearing her tone, we quietly left,” he said. When asked about touching the actor, the man said, “While walking, we accidentally touched her. It was not on purpose.” The duo said that after the news broke, they went into hiding after receiving legal advice. According to reports, the police team investigating the case is already on their way to Malappuram.
Officers of the Kalamassery police station, while talking to the media after checking the footage from the shopping mall, said that the men were identified and that they were youngsters. “They inappropriately touched her,” an official said. Though the actor hasn’t filed a police complaint yet, officials said that her statement would be taken soon.
On Thursday evening, the actor took to Instagram to share a note that one of the two men grazed her back while she was inside the hypermarket at the mall. Although the actor thought she had imagined it at first, her sister witnessed the incident too. The actor, who went blank for a minute trying to process the situation tried to confront the men but they disregarded her.
