Director Ranjith remanded in sexual abuse case; shifted to Ernakulam sub jail

KOCHI: Director Ranjith has been remanded to 14 days in the sexual abuse case. He was shifted to Ernakulam sub jail. His arrest was registered after bringing him to North women’s station. He was later produced before the magistrate’s house in Thrippunithura.

He was admitted to the General Hospital yesterday following health issues. He was taken to the North Women's Station from the hospital around 7 am Wednesday morning. The director was taken into custody last night following a complaint by an actress for misbehaving with her in the caravan at the shooting location in Fort Kochi on January 28. The Thodupuzha police stopped the car in which Ranjith was travelling near Muttam on the Thodupuzha-Puliyanmala route at night and took him into custody. The police had got hints that Ranjith might go into hiding after knowing about the case registered.

The actress has filed a complaint with the DGP and the Kochi Central Police. The new complainant is an actress presently acting in the film that Ranjith is directing. The complaint is that after entering the caravan without permission, Ranjith caught hold of her and then tried to kiss her. When she resisted, he withdrew.

Ernakulam City DCP Aswathy Jiji is in charge of the investigation. The actress' statement was secretly recorded at the women's police station two days ago. The police then decided to arrest him. The case and further proceedings were conducted secretly.

The complaint was handed over to city police commissioner Kaliraj Maheshwar. The police said there is truth in her statement. Two similar complaints had earlier been filed against Ranjith. One complaint was based on the revelations of a Bengali actress. A case was also filed on the complaint of a youth who alleged that he had been subjected to unnatural sex.