Kochi/Kerala: Actress Minu Muneer, who was a complainant in sexual harassment cases that took headlines following the Hema Committee report, was arrested in a case of defamation of actor and director Balachandra Menon. Minu is accused of defaming the filmmaker on social media, and she was arrested by Kochi Infopark Cyber Police before being released on bail.
Minu had accused seven others, including actors Mukesh and Jayasurya, of sexual assault and harassment before she turned against the veteran filmmaker Balachandra Menon.
Earlier, a court had concluded the proceedings in the case related to the complaint filed by the actress against Balachandra Menon, and it had issued her a notice. The police had submitted a final report on the case stating that there was no evidence for the allegations against Balachandra Menon.
The actress' complaint was that he sexually assaulted her at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram during the shooting of a film.
Although there is evidence that Balachandra Menon stayed at the hotel, there is no evidence that the actress arrived there on the day or the days surrounding the alleged incident. A junior artist had come to testify in the matter and gave a statement that she had not seen anything. This was a major setback for the complainant, Minu.
In the matter of cases registered based on Justice Hema Committee recommendations over sexual assault and related complaints from female workers, including actresses, in the Malayalam film industry, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) informed the Kerala High Court that it had closed all 35 cases registered, citing the absence of victim cooperation.
The SIT stated that despite the registration of the cases, none of the alleged victims had come forward to provide statements, prompting the decision to drop further action.
Taking note of the submission, a division bench comprising Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and C S Sudha observed that no further proceedings were necessary at this stage concerning the cases initiated by the agency.