Amidst the cases of sexual harassment in Mollywood, the first FIR was filed against Ranjit, Bengali actress made these allegations

Kerala police on Monday registered an FIR against filmmaker Ranjith, who has been in the news after several recent sexual harassment allegations against actresses in Mollywood. The case was registered after Bengali actress Srilekha Mitra filed a complaint against the filmmaker with the Kochi police commissioner. The complaint was sent to the police through an email and alleged that Ranjith had touched the actress inappropriately after calling her to act in the film ‘Paleri Manikyam’ in 2009. According to Kochi Police Commissioner S Samsundar, the case has been registered under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC, PTI reported. On Saturday, Srilekha Mitra accused Ranjith of making advances and misbehaving with her during a script discussion years ago. After registering the FIR, the police have started an investigation into the case. Ranjith may also be arrested if some concrete evidence is found.

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FIR lodged against Ranjit

She said, ‘Ranjit is a big name in the Malayalam film industry and a National Award-winning director. I went to his/her house to discuss an upcoming film project and I did not like his/her behavior. I felt uncomfortable while we were discussing the script.’ The actress said that after the misbehavior, she refused to be a part of the film and returned to Kolkata.

Said big thing about other actresses too

The actress further said, ‘I don’t know if he/she has treated other female artists in the film industry in the same way. If they have also faced a similar situation, then it is up to them whether they speak openly or not. Maybe his/her power and influence has played a big role in others not speaking.’

Ranjit resigned from the post of president

However, Ranjith rejected the actress’ allegations and said that he/she was the real victim in the case. Following the allegations, Ranjith resigned from the post of Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman. According to a PTI report, in an audio clip, Ranjith said that he/she did not want to continue as chairman as it would have a negative impact on the reputation of the Left government.