Malayalam film director Ranjith Balakrishnan booked for sexually assaulting man in Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Oct 28: A case has been registered against Malayalam film director Ranjith Balakrishnan on a complaint by a 31-year-old man, who alleged that he was sexually assaulted by him at a five-star hotel here, police said on Monday.
In the FIR, the complainant has claimed that he met the director in 2012 in Kozhikode when he had gone to meet actor Mammootty during the shoot of 'Bavuttiyude Namathil', a film written and produced by Balakrishnan.
According to FIR, the complainant alleged that the director thereafter managed to get his phone number and invited him to the hotel near Kempegowda International Airport in December 2012 where he allegedly offered him alcohol and sexually assaulted him.
"The complaint was initially filed at a police station in Kerala but the case was transferred to Bengaluru because the alleged incident of sexual assault occurred at a five-star hotel here and an FIR has now been registered," a senior police official said.
"The incident allegedly took place in 2012 but the complainant came out now in the wake of a series of sexual harrassment allegations by many artists in the Malayalam film industry which he claimed gave him the courage to register his complaint," the official said.
"Based on the complaint received, a case was registered on October 26 at BIAL (Bangalore International Airport Limited) police station under section 377 (unnatural offences) and 66 E (violation of privacy) of Information Technology Act against the director and the matter is being investigated," he said.
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Police inspector suspended over 'involvement' in honour killing in Andhra's' Palnadu dt
Macherla (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): A police inspector was suspended on Sunday over his alleged involvement in an alleged honour killing of a woman in a village under Macherla in Palnadu district, a senior police official said.
According to police, the woman, identified as Chowdeshwaramma, was in a relationship with Nagaraj, both belonging to the same community, and had eloped earlier.
"A police inspector was suspended following allegations of involvement in an honour killing case, including suspected monetary transactions with the victim's family," the official told PTI.
Police said the couple had approached the police station after eloping, where the woman's parents assured that they would conduct her marriage with Nagaraj, following which she returned home.
However, after a few days, when the family allegedly did not show interest in conducting the marriage, the woman expressed her intention to go back with the man again, he said.
Subsequently, she was found dead, with the family initially claiming that she died by hanging and filing a complaint accordingly.
The postmortem report later revealed that the woman was murdered by strangulation, contradicting the family's claim, police said.
Allegations later surfaced that the inspector had taken money from the woman's father and was involved in handing her back to the family earlier.
Based on these allegations and failure to take proper action in the case, the inspector was placed under suspension, said the official.
The woman's death is reported to have occurred on March 18, police said.
Meanwhile, police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and relevant sections may be altered during the course of investigation, he added.
