Director Ranjith booked in Bengaluru on charges of sexually assaulting a man

Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith Balakrishnan has been booked by the Bengaluru police on charges of sexually assaulting a 31-year-old man, with an FIR filed at the BIAL police station.

The case initially registered in Kerala, was later transferred to Bengaluru based on the complainant's claim that the incident took place in a luxury hotel near Kempegowda International Airport in Karnataka’s capital.

According to the complaint, the victim, an artist, alleged that he first met Ranjith in 2012 in Kozhikode, Kerala, during a visit to meet actor Mammootty on the set of Bavuttiyude Namathil, a project both written and produced by Ranjith.

During this initial encounter, Ranjith reportedly collected the artist's contact information and later invited him to a hotel in Bengaluru, where the alleged assault occurred. The complainant also reported that Ranjith offered him alcohol, coerced him into non-consensual acts, and recorded photos and video of the incident, later allegedly sharing the images with an actress.

The FIR cites Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, addressing unnatural offences, and Section 66E of the Information Technology Act, which pertains to privacy violations. The case was originally lodged in August with the Kasaba police in Kozhikode, and later that month, Ranjith was granted anticipatory bail for 30 days by the Kozhikode Principal Sessions Court.

In a separate incident in August, a Bengali actress also lodged a complaint against Ranjith, accusing him of inappropriate behaviour during casting for his 2009 Malayalam film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha.

This allegation led to Ranjith stepping down from his role as the head of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, a government-backed institution. Ranjith has since denied both allegations but now faces further scrutiny as investigations proceed.