Ranjith to seek anticipatory bail after police register FIR over Sreelekha Mitra's sexual assault allegations

Thiruvananthapuram: After the Kerala Police filed an FIR following sexual miscondut complaint by Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra, director and former chairman of the Kerala Film Academy, Ranjith, has decided to approach the court for an anticipatory bail. He will take further action after observing the police action as the investigation is in its initial stage, approaching the court to cancel the FIR may backfire.

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Kerala Police registered the non-bailable case against Ranjith, following Sreelekha's complaint with Kochi city police commissioner. Ranjith, who denied the allegations, had resigned as head of the Kerala Film Academy on Sunday (Aug 25). The complaint, filed by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra, alleges that Ranjith misbehaved with her in 2009 during the pre-production phase of the film Paleri Manikyam. 

The case, registered under IPC section 354, deals with criminal force or assault against a woman with the intention to outrage her modesty. The case will be handed over to the Special Investigation Team set up by the Kerala government to investigate allegations arising from the Justice Hema Committee report. Ranjith claims the allegation is part of a "concerted move" against him after he became chairperson of the academy.

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• director ranjith
• actor sreelekha mitra
• fir
• non bailable case
• hema committee report
• bengali actress
• malayalam film industry