Lakshmi Menon, south actress, denies abduction charges as court delays arrest

Abduction, assault, and shocking claims! Actress Lakshmi R Menon now finds herself in the middle of a legal storm in Kerala. The Kerala High Court has granted her interim protection from arrest in connection with a case involving the alleged abduction and assault of an IT professional in Kochi.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas issued the order, which will keep her safe from arrest until September 17.

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The controversy erupted after an IT employee filed a complaint accusing Lakshmi and a group of associates of abducting and attacking him following a bar altercation on August 24.

According to the police, the group chased the man’s car, stopped it near the North Railway Overbridge, and forcibly pulled him into their vehicle.

 

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The complaint alleges he was beaten inside the car before being let go.

So far, three others, Mithun, Aneesh, and Sonamol, have been arrested by Ernakulam North Police and sent to judicial custody. Lakshmi Menon, however, approached the court seeking anticipatory bail, denying all allegations.

In her plea, the actress strongly refuted the claims, calling them false and designed to tarnish her image. She stated that the complainant and his friends were the real aggressors.

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Lakshmi alleged that she and a female friend were verbally and sexually harassed at the bar and later followed by the men, who allegedly attacked them with a beer bottle.

The High Court, after hearing the arguments, asked the police for further instructions and adjourned the case for September 17.

The charges listed against Lakshmi Menon and her co-accused under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) 2023 include several serious offenses. These range from wrongful confinement (Section 127(2)) and wrongful restraint (Section 126) to voluntarily causing hurt (Section 115(2)) and kidnapping (Section 140(2)).

Additional charges cover obscene acts (Section 296), criminal intimidation (Section 351(2)), and acting with common intention (Section 3(5)), suggesting that the police believe the accused acted together in committing the alleged crimes.

Lakshmi Menon, known for her work in Tamil cinema, made her acting debut in the Malayalam film ‘Raghuvinte Swantham Raziya’ in 2011. She rose to prominence with her first lead role in the Tamil film ‘Sundara Pandian’ in 2012.

Over the years, she has earned critical acclaim and several awards, including a Filmfare Award South, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, and two SIIMA Awards.