Case against Ranjith handed over to special investigation team; actress’ statement to be recorded directly

KOCHI: The case against director Ranjith registered on the complaint of Bengali actress, has been handed over to the special investigation team. The case was registered by Kochi North Police. The investigation team will record the detailed statement of the actress.

The actress complained that Ranjith touched her body with sexual interest at his flat in Kadavantra during discussions held in connection with the film Paleri Manikyam. A case under non-bailable section has been registered against the director. This is an offense punishable with imprisonment of up to three years.

The team has decided to record the statement of the actress directly in Kolkata. The SIT is also examining the legal feasibility of recording the statements online. The actress filed an email complaint to Kochi City Police Commissioner S Shyam Sundar on Monday evening. Soon after handing it over to Ernakulam North Police, the FIR was registered at 8:30 pm.

Her complaint said that she had shared the ordeal with story writer Joshi Joseph. Based on it, the investigation team had collected the statement of Joshi Joseph. The investigation team will directly contact the people involved in the film mentioned by her. Joshi Joseph had earlier confirmed the revelation of the actress. The documents in the flat mentioned in the allegation will have to be examined for investigation.