Thiruvananthapuram: Malayalam actor and model Shiyas Kareem was on Thursday taken into police custody at the Chennai airport in connection with a rape and cheating case.
Kareem, against whom a lookout notice was issued by the Kerala Police, was detained by the airport security personnel upon his arrival from Dubai.
Last month, a 32-year-old woman who works at the gym owned by the actor-model registered a complaint of sexual assault and cheating against him at the Chandera Police station at Kasargod.
In her complaint, the woman alleged that the actor repeatedly raped her promising to marry her. She also claimed that he owes her money and cheated her by not honouring his word that she would be made a partner in his business.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case under sections 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement), and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code against the popular reality show star.
Chandera Police Station officials are expected to arrive in Chennai later in the day to register his arrest.
Meanwhile, Kareem dismissed the allegations as "fabricated".