An FIR has been filed against Malayalam director Ranjith for allegedly sexually assaulting a Bengali actress. As reported by the news agency ANI, the FIR was filed on Wednesday (August 29). IGP and Commissioner of Police S Syamsundar shared information about the same and stated that further investigation is underway.
“Received a complaint from the victim in the abuse case regarding director Ranjith. A crime in the north police station has been registered under section 354, and the investigation will be as per the mandate to be decided by the special investigation team constituted by the government for the same,” he said.
What Did Bengali Actress Allege?
FIR against Ranjith comes two days after a Bengali actress accused him of sexually harassing her during the auditions for his 2009 film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha. “I was talking on the phone to a cinematographer, standing in Ranjith’s bedroom balcony. As I stood there, he touched my bangles. I was uncomfortable with it, but I gave him the benefit of doubt. Then he started caressing my neck, so I excused myself and left the room,” the actress said.
She further described the incident as traumatic and added, “I was not able to share the incident with anyone. After the incident, I spent the night in my hotel room in fear, thinking, what if people come and knock on my door? I was waiting for daylight.”
How Did Ranjith React To Sexual Assault Allegations?
Ranjith also addressed the allegations later and counter-accused the actress of spreading lies. “I interacted with her in the presence of screenwriter Shankar Ramakrishnan and two assistants. After Ramakrishnan narrated the story to Sreelekha, she was excited. I had some confusion about which character should be given to her,” he said and alleged that the Bengali actress made such allegations because she was not given a role in the movie.
It should be noted that Ranjith is also the chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy – a government initiative to promote Malayalam cinema.
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