Actress Honey Rose files police complaint against Boby Chemmanur, alleges 'sexual' harassment
Kochi, Jan 7: Malayalam actress Honey Rose on Tuesday lodged a police complaint against prominent businessman Boby Chemmanur, accusing him of making "repeated sexually coloured" remarks against her.
Rose posted the allegation on one of her social media handles.
Chemmanur rejected Rose's allegations, claiming there was nothing objectionable in what he had said.
Ernakulam Central police said further procedures are underway in Rose's complaint, and they will soon register a case against the businessman under BNS Section 75 (sexual harassment).
"I have filed a complaint with the Ernakulam Central Police Station against your (Chemmanur) continuous derogatory remarks about me. I will take the same action against your supporters who share the same mentality. You can continue to rely on your wealth, but I have faith in the Indian legal system," she said in her Facebook post.
She also warned others with a "similar mindset" to his of strict legal action.
In the Facebook post, Rose further told the businessman to continue believing in his money power.
Rejecting the actress's charges, Chemmanur said there were no such issues between them as raised by her.
He claimed that he didn't use any derogatory terms, as alleged by her, and he always interacted with her in a friendly manner.
"She attended two of my inauguration events. We danced... I used to tell jokes. She seemed to have no issue with those things. And now she lodged a complaint against me after months," the businessman said.
He said he did not think that she had any personal grudge against him.
The jeweller further claimed that he behaves decently with women and said he discussed the matter with his lawyers, who said there was nothing objectionable in what he had said.
Rose revealed the identity of the businessman two days after she posted on Facebook on Sunday, accusing an individual of stalking her and making sexually inappropriate remarks, including through media platforms, which she claimed outraged her modesty.
Several people posted offensive comments below her post, prompting Rose to approach the police.
The Kochi Central Police have already registered a case against 30 people and arrested one of them over her complaint about sexual harassment through social media.
The arrested man was identified as Shaji, a 60-year-old man hailing from nearby Panangad.
The accused were booked under various sections of the BNS, including Section 75 and Section 67 of the IT Act. BNS Section 75 deals with sexual harassment, and IT Act Section 67 refers to the punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.
"We have intensified our investigation. Many of those who posted such remarks have deleted them. Efforts are underway to retrieve such posts and identify the accused," a police officer said on Tuesday morning.
Rose is known for her roles in a handful of movies in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu.
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Rupee hits all-time low for second time in a week
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 31 paise to settle at 91.99 against the US dollar on Wednesday, touching the lowest closing level for the second time in less than a week, amid increased month-end demand for the greenback.
Forex traders said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe offered quiet reassurance. However, increased month-end demand for the American currency as well as the ongoing geopolitical tensions dented investors' sentiments.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.60 and touched an early high of 91.50, but pared all the gains to touch an intra-day low of 91.99 against the greenback.
The domestic unit settled 31 paise down, revisiting its lowest-ever closing level of 91.99 against the greenback. The Indian currency previously ended at this level on January 23 when it also hit its all-time intraday low of 92 against the US dollar.
On Tuesday, the rupee rebounded from its all-time low levels and gained 22 paise to close at 91.68 against the US dollar.
Analysts said the rupee opened higher as the US dollar index softened and a long-awaited trade breakthrough with Europe bolstered investor sentiment.
India and the European Union on Tuesday announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), under which a number of domestic sectors such as apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU will get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines, an official said.
The deal has been dubbed the "mother of all deals" as it will create a market of about 2 billion people.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent lower at 96.14.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.43 per cent lower at USD 67.28 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 487.20 points to settle at 82,344.68, while Nifty surged 167.35 points to 25,342.75.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers and purchased equities worth Rs 480.26 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
