Actor Manju Warrier lodges police complaint against director Menon alleging threat to life
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 23: Popular Malayalam actress Manju Warrier has lodged a police complaint against ad filmmaker-turned director Shrikumar Menon for allegedly threatening and defaming her through social media.
Menon, who had helmed the advertisements of several popular brands with Warrier in the lead role, entered tinsel town last year by directing the Mohanlal-Manju Warrier starrer "Odiyan", which failed to take off at the box office.
State police chief Loknath Behera on Tuesday confirmed here that he had received the "Asuran" actress' complaint and said necessary action would be taken after examining the complaint in detail.
However, his office was tight-lipped about the content of the complaint.
"The complaint, received by the DGP, has been handed over to a special investigation team for further action," an official at the police headquarters here told PTI.
According to local media reports, the award-winning actress levelled grave charges against Shrikumar Menon and one of his journalist friends.
She alleged that the director had threatened her and some of her close friends and tried to defame her by orchestrating a hate campaign against her on the social media, the reports said.
It also said that Warrier had handed over some digital evidence to the investigators to prove her point.
However, Shrikumar Menon, in a Facebook post, said he came to know about the police complaint only through media reports and he would cooperate with the investigation.
Unleashing a scathing attack against the actress, he said she had forgotten all the help and support he had offered during her second coming in the Malayalam industry after several years.
He also alleged that she had only Rs 1,500 in her account when she had left her home and it was he who had given her a cheque of Rs 25 lakh as advance payment of her first advertisement.
The actress has also sent a letter to the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) about her police complaint against Menon and sought the support of the outfit.
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Snake venom case: SC quashes FIR, proceedings against YouTuber Elvish Yadav
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed an FIR and subsequent proceedings against YouTuber Elvish Yadav under the Wildlife (Protection) Act in the snake venom case registered by Uttar Pradesh Police in 2023.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh said the case cannot be sustained in law as the complaint under the Wildlife (Protection) Act was not filed by an authorised person.
It said that offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) invoked in the FIR against Yadav were based on an earlier FIR registered in Gurugram, in which a closure report has been filed.
Referring to the provisions of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substance Act (NDPS) Act invoked in the FIR against Yadav, the bench said these cannot be invoked as the liquid substance (anti-venom) recovered from the co-accused was not a prescribed substance under the schedule.
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It referred to the earlier decisions of the court and said that the case against Yadav cannot be sustained in law, quashing the FIR and subsequent proceedings, including filing of the chargesheet and cognisance order of the trial court.
The case against Yadav was registered on November 22, 2023, and he was arrested on March 17, 2024, for the alleged use of snake venom at a rave party in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
The controversial YouTuber challenged an Allahabad High Court order refusing to quash the chargesheet and the cognisance order of the trial court, terming it a serious offence.
On August 6 last year, the apex court stayed proceedings in the trial court against Yadav in the case.
The chargesheet alleged the consumption of snake venom as a recreational drug at "rave" parties by people, including foreigners.
Yadav's counsel had argued in the high court that no snakes, narcotics or psychotropic substances were recovered from him and no causal link was established between the applicant and the co-accused.
Though the informant was no longer an animal welfare officer, he filed the FIR showing himself to be one, the counsel had added.
Calling Yadav a "well-known influencer" and someone who appears in multiple reality shows on television, the counsel had said his involvement in the FIR garnered "much media attention".
