Sexual assault plaint against Ranjith transferred to Bengaluru

Bengaluru: A case registered by Kerala Police against Malayalam film director Ranjith Balakrishnan for allegedly sexually assaulting a 31-year-old male artist has been transferred to Bengaluru police as the purported crime was committed in a hotel near the city's airport.The artist from Kozhikode had filed a complaint in Kerala this Aug — 12 years after the crime. According to the complaint, he met Ranjith when he went to Kerala to see actor Mammootty during the shooting of ‘Bavuttiyude Namathil' in Dec 2012. Ranjith allegedly took his mobile number and invited him later to a hotel near Kempegowda airport in Bengaluru.Ranjith allegedly offered the artist alcohol, got him drunk, and sexually abused him. The complainant alleged that the director clicked photos of the act and sent them to an actor.Following the transfer, Bengaluru police registered a case on Saturday and served a notice to the director to appear before the investigating officer. "He will be interrogated, and action will follow accordingly. We will ask the complainant to give us his statement," a police officer said.The Ranjith controversy surfaced amid a wave of allegations in recent months against several prominent figures in Kerala's film industry, following the fallout from the Justice K Hema Committee report. Ranjith is facing separate harassment charges by an actor in Kerala.The Hema Committee investigated allegations of exploitation and rights violations of women in the Malayalam film industry, documenting widespread sexual harassment on movie sets, during auditions, and a prevalent "casting couch" culture.