Noted Malayalam actor Siddique resigned from his post as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), a well-known actors’ association in Kerala, after allegations of rape and sexual assault were made against an actress.

The veteran actor said he has sent his resignation letter to the organisation’s president, Mohanlal.

“Yes. I have submitted my official resignation to the president of the organisation, Mohanlal. Since there were allegations against me, I decided not to continue in the post and have resigned,” Siddique said.

An actress alleged on August 24 that Siddique sexually assaulted her after he invited her to a film discussion.

“I was a young newcomer to the industry at the time. He invited me to a hotel under the pretext of discussing a film project. There was no such film. It was a trap. He sexually abused and raped me. He also physically attacked me. I had to give up my dreams and my time and went through a lot of psychological trauma,” the actress said at a press conference.

The allegations came in the wake of turmoil in the Malayalam film industry following the release of the Justice Committee Hema report, which highlighted numerous cases of casting couch abuse and sexual abuse in the industry.

The report had exposed cases of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry and raised demands for action against the culprits.

Among other things, the committee reported the existence of casting couch games (in which powerful men demand sexual favors from women in exchange for roles in films), frequent lewd and vulgar comments from men in the workplace, and drunken male co-actors forcibly forcing their way into women’s rooms.