Former govt pleader P G Manu found dead

KOLLAM: P G Manu, former government pleader of the Kerala High Court, accused in a sexual harassment case, has been found dead. He was found hanging at his rented house at Anandavalleshwaram in Kollam. He reached Kollam to appear for the defendant in Dr Vandana murder case. He is a native of Piravom in Ernakulam. Manu was also NIA lawyer.

The case against Manu is that he sexually abused a woman who approached him for legal help. The complainant came to see him in October 2023 in connection with a case that happened in 2018. The complaint is that he threatened her many times and sexually abused her at his office in Kadavanthra and at the complainant's house. A case was registered against the lawyer under the IT Act for taking private pictures of the complainant without permission and sending obscene messages to her phone. Manu, who was granted bail, abused another woman and a complaint was lodged against him. With this, he along with his family went to the woman's house and apologized. The footage of it had surfaced.

However, Manu denied the allegations raised by the woman and said the case was part of a deliberate move by his opponents. A case was registered against Manu on the complaint filed to the rural SP. After the case was registered, Manu resigned from senior government pleader’s post in the high court. He then surrendered at the Puthenkurish DySP office. He surrendered after the high court and the Supreme Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. Manu was out on bail in the case.