Actor Mohanlal, the head of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, on Friday said that the body accepted the resignation of Dileep, who is accused of plotting an actress’ abduction and assault, The News Minute reported. The announcement follows accusations from the Kerala-based Women in Cinema Collective that the association and its president were unresponsive and “supporting” the accused.

Mohanlal said the decision was long overdue. “I called him [Dileep] and told him about the decision and asked for his resignation,” the film body’s president said. “He sent us the signed resignation letter.

The veteran actor also told reporters he felt he was being “unfairly targeted” in the matter. “It is affecting me,” he said. “I am becoming the target of this. National and international media is making me the face of this. I don’t know if this is an opposition to Mohanlal the actor, or something else.”

The association said actors Revathy, Parvathy, Padmapriya, Rima Kallingal, Remya Nambeeshan, who had resigned from the body earlier, could return if they wanted to. Mohanlal said they will need to submit a letter that will be considered by the executive committee and then by the general body.

The collective had accused the association of using bylaws to accommodate Dileep and keep the woman who complained against him out of the association. Its members had also questioned why the association would not clarify the status of Dileep’s membership following reports his expulsion from the group had been revoked.

The actress was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men on February 17, 2017, near Angamaly in Ernakulam. Dileep has been charged with planning the attack and hiring the group that carried it out, according to the police. A man called Pulsar Suni is the main accused, while five others, including Dileep, have been named in the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team. Dileep’s former wife Manju Warrier and current wife Kavya Madhavan are among the 355 witnesses in the case.