August 30, 2024: More Malayalam actors, who were accused of sexual misconduct in the wake of the Justice Hema Committee report’s release, were booked by Kerala Police on Thursday, including CPI(M) MLA M Mukesh. 
On Monday, a woman actor had accused actors Mukesh, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu and Maniyanpillai Raju, as well as film production controller Noble and Congress-affiliated lawyers association leader V S Chandrasekharan, of sexual misconduct. They were all booked Thursday. 
Mukesh has denied the allegations as ‘blackmail tactics’.
Director Ranjith, who was booked by police earlier this week, after another woman actor accused him of sexual misconduct in 2009, faced yet another allegation on Thursday by a man from Kozhikode. 
Meanwhile, as calls for Mukesh’s resignation as MLA intensified, Kerala’s ruling Left alliance, the LDF, said there was no need for him to quite as two sitting Congress legislators are also accused in sexual assault cases.
Later on Thursday, Mukesh got a reprieve after the district sessions court in Ernakulam stayed his arrest for five days.