Kerala Police Files FIR Against Malayalam Director Ranjith After Sexual Assault Complaints
New Delhi: The Kerala Police filed an FIR on Monday against filmmaker Ranjith, marking the first case amid recent sexual harassment allegations against female actors in Mollywood. The case was registered after Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra lodged a complaint with the Kochi city police commissioner.
The complaint, emailed to the police, accused Ranjith of inappropriately touching the actress with sexual intent after inviting her to act in the 2009 movie 'Paleri Manikyam.' According to Kochi Police Commissioner S Syamsundar, a case has been registered under IPC Section 354 for assault or use of criminal force with intent to outrage a woman's modesty, as reported by PTI.
On Saturday, Sreelekha Mitra accused Ranjith of making advances and misbehaving with her during a script discussion years ago. She stated that Ranjith, a well-known national award-winning director in the Malayalam film industry, subtly made advances that made her uncomfortable while they were discussing an upcoming film at his residence, according to PTI.
The actress said that after Ranjith's inappropriate behavior, she declined the project and returned to Kolkata. She mentioned that she is unsure if other actresses in the industry have experienced similar situations, suggesting that his power and influence might have kept them silent.
Ranjith, however, denied the allegations, claiming he was the "real victim" in the situation.
Following the accusations, Ranjith stepped down as chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy. In an audio message, he stated that he didn't want to continue in the role as it could harm the reputation of the Left government, according to PTI.
