MeToo in Mollywood: Director Ranjith booked for 'raping' male actor

A second case for a sexual offence has been registered against director Ranjith on a complaint by a male actor in Kozhikode, police said on Saturday.

A first information report (FIR) under sections 377 (unnatural offence) of the Indian Penal Code and section 66 E (punishment for violation of privacy) of the Information Technology (IT) Act was lodged against the director on Friday night at the Kasaba police station, a senior police officer of the district said.

The complainant actor has alleged that the director called him to a hotel in Bengaluru in 2012, asked him to strip and took his nude photos.

The complainant also claimed, before TV channels, that the photos were sent to a well known veteran female actor who has denied the allegation.

The first case against Ranjith was under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) on a complaint by a female actor from West Bengal regarding an incident which occurred in 2009.

She had alleged that the director had touched her inappropriately with sexual intent after inviting her to act in the movie Paleri Manikyam in 2009.

Following the allegation by the actor, Ranjith had resigned from his post as chairman of Kerala Chalachitra Academy.

Multiple FIRs have been registered against many high profile Malayalam film personalities following allegations of sexual harassment against various directors and actors in the wake of revelations in the Justice K Hema Committee report.

The Justice Hema Committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry.

Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation cropping up against several actors and directors, the state government on August 25 announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team to probe them.