The Kerala police, on Saturday, November 16, filed a chargesheet against filmmaker and former chairperson of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Ranjith Balakrishnan, in connection with a sexual harassment case against him. The chargesheet was filed at the Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court by the special investigation team (SIT) investigating the sexual harassment cases in the aftermath of the release of Hema Committee report. It is to be noted that this is the first chargesheet to be filed by the SIT.
Ranjith was booked on August 26 after Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra filed a police complaint against him for allegedly sexually harassing her in the year 2009. In her complaint, sent via email to the Kochi Commissioner of Police, Sreelekha said that she had come to the city for discussions related to one of Ranjith’s films, called Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha.
“During the course of discussion, he clutched my hand and later on attempted to spread his hand to other parts of my body with sexual intention. Realizing that his intentions were not the discussion regarding the film and with sexual intent, I had to escape from the flat and return to the hotel where I was staying. My bitter experience was shared on the next day to a script writer Sri Joshy Joseph. As I was not given the traveling ticket for my return journey, I was compelled to seek the help of Sri Joshy Joseph (sic),” she said.
Ranjith has been charged under Section 354 (assaulting or using criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) and Section 509 (acts, words, or gestures that are intended to insult a woman’s modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
While Ranjith claimed that the allegations were fabricated, he resigned as chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy. The Academy is a Kerala government initiative meant to promote Malayalam cinema.