Suresh Gopi apologised in a post on Facebook (File)
The woman journalist, at the centre of a controversy involving Malayalam actor-politician Suresh Gopi, said she will take legal action against the former Rajya Sabha MP's behaviour.
Mr Gopi on Saturday apologised to the journalist for putting his hands on her shoulder twice while responding to questions by journalists in Kerala's Kozhikode on Friday.
The actor, in a social media post, said he behaved in a friendly way with the journalist and tendered an apology for his alleged misbehaviour, saying that he only meant to treat her with affection.
"If she felt bad about my behaviour, her feelings should be respected. I tender an apology to her if she had felt bad about my behaviour. Sorry," the actor-politician said on Facebook.
A purported video of the incident shows Suresh Gopi responding to a question posed by the journalist and placing his hand on her shoulder. The journalist is seen moving back and asking a second question. The actor again places his hand on her shoulder and she pushes it away.
However, the journalist said the apology seemed to be an "explanation" rather than an apology and said she would take legal action.
The Kerala Journalists' Union president, MV Vineetha, and general secretary R Kiran Babu demanded that Suresh Gopi admit his mistake and issue an apology to the journalist, a press release by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) said.
"KUWJ will file a complaint against Suresh Gopi, who misbehaved with the journalist while interacting with the media, in the women's commission," the release added.
"Other appropriate legal actions will be taken. This is an insult to all women who have taken up this profession," the release said.
"This is highly condemnable and the union stands firmly with the journalist," it stated.
The journalist has also filed a complaint against Suresh Gopi with the Commissioner of Kozhikode City.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)