KOCHI: Police have identified two youths who tried to assault a young heroine at a prominent mall in Kochi on Thursday evening. It is learnt that the two youths were identified from the CCTV footage obtained from the mall. The investigation team is hoping to arrest the youths soon as they have obtained the footage which shows the two following and talking to the actress.

CCTV footage from outside the mall was also collected to find out where the accused had gone. Both the youths are under 24 years old. The arrest is getting delayed as the faces of the accused were not clear as both were wearing masks. However, police are confident that they will be able to find the culprits soon as all the visitors have recorded their names and mobile numbers in the register of the mall. The police are trying to reach out to the accused by comparing the scenes where the name is registered in the register and the scenes where the actress is harassed. The team led by Kalamassery CI Santosh is investigating.

The incident came to light after the actress opened up about it through her social media page. Following this, the police voluntarily registered a case in connection with the incident. The Women's Commission also registered a case.

The case has been registered under the IPC 354, 354D for insulting a woman in public, a non-bailable section. The offence is punishable by one to five years in prison and a fine. The actress and her family initially decided not to lodge a complaint with the police.

The incident happened at 6 pm on Thursday when one of the youths misbehaved with the actress while she was walking through the hypermarket. ‘First I suspected that it was by accident. But my sister saw everything clearly. She came near me and asked me if there was anything wrong. I was shocked because something unexpected happened. When I went near them they pretended as if nothing happened. I did it because I wanted them to know that I understood. Later when I was standing in the counter to pay money, they came near me and showed the courage to talk to me. They wanted to know which all films I were doing. We ignored them and asked them to mind their own business. They left the place when my mother came to our side,’ she wrote on her Instagram page.