Forgave MP for his age, says Shweta Menon

Actress Shweta Menon (39) told dna on Monday that she did not press her charge of molestation against Congress M.Pithambaran Kurup (73) “since he apologised to me”. Kurup had allegedly groped the Kerala State Award-winning actress at the President’s Trophy boat race function at Kollam in Kerala last Friday evening. Television channels showed Kurup moving very close to Shweta and touching her. Aghast at the incident, Shweta had accused Kurup of molesting her.

Asked by dna why she reached a compromise with Kurup, Shweta denied that she had compromised with the politician. “He is a 73-year-old man. When he apologised to me, I felt that I should close the matter. After all, I have a father who is in his ‘80s. But the real culprit is B Mohanan, collector of Kollam. He was the one who invited me to the function and it was his duty to ensure my safety. He failed miserably in that respect. Had he provided proper security then this incident would not have happened,’’ she explained.

Shweta also stated that she was pulling out of the controversy since it had become totally politicised. “The DYFI (the youth wing of the CPM) and other outfits were cynically exploiting my plight. I am not into politics and I do not want my name to be used by people for political purposes. Hence I felt that I should not pursue the matter further,” she added.

Kurup had denied that he groped Shweta. He said his political rivals in Kollam district were spreading canards with a view to lower his image in the eyes of the public before the Lok Sabha elections.