KOCHI: In a new twist to the honey trap and extortion case involving a Kochi-based IT firm, the Kochi city police have booked the company owner based on a complaint by the woman accused in the case. The Infopark police have registered a case against Litmus7 CEO Venu Gopalakrishnan under various charges, including outraging the modesty of a woman and issuing threats.
“We registered the case after receiving a formal complaint from the woman. In her statement, she alleged that apart from Venu, three other persons from the company also threatened her,” said a source with Kochi city police, adding that a detailed investigation is underway.
Advocate Kalyanakrishnan, counsel for the couple accused in honey trap case, said, “This is not a counter-case. The IT firm owner, anticipating a sexual harassment case against him, lodged a complaint first in an attempt to evade the legal consequences.”
The woman, who worked as personal assistant to Venu, resigned from the company after her marriage.
Venugopal allegedly troubled her with a sexual intent. The honey trap allegation was a retaliatory move after she informed Venu of her intention to file a complaint under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) against him with the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at the workplace, said the advocate.
“The Ernakulam magistrate court granted bail after taking into account the arguments and concerns raised by us. Moreover, the bail was approved with standard conditions, including prior notice for appearances before the investigating team,”said Kalyanakrishnan.
He also pointed out that the case filed against the couple appears to have been influenced by some top police official, and which has been mentioned in the bail application.
The woman and her husband, both natives of Chavakkad in Thrissur, were arrested by the Ernakulam central police on July 29 based on a complaint by Venu, who accused the couple of extorting money by threatening to spread defamatory allegations and falsely implicate him in a sexual assault case. Police had also confirmed the seizure of cheque leaves valued at around `20 crore, along with related agreements, from the couple’s possession.