KOCHI: Thrikkakara police have registered a case against actor Bala and three others for trespassing into an apartment and threatening a YouTuber and his flatmate. The incident occurred in Unichira, near Kakkanad, on Friday evening.
Aju Alex, who runs a channel named Chekuthan, in which he shares his opinion on other YouTube videos, current affairs and films, is one of the occupants of the flat. Bala was reportedly provoked by a video that was highly critical of him.
A case has been registered for trespassing and criminal intimidation. According to the complainant, Bala, accompanied by three others, barged into the C3 apartment located on the third floor of the H and H Housing complex at Gingerline Road at 6 PM on Friday.
The flat is rented by Abdul Kadhar of Kottikulam, Kasaragod. Aju, who hails from Tiruvalla, was not in the apartment when the incident took place. According to the FIR, the accused tossed clothes and tore backdrops used for content creation. Bala also allegedly threatened Aju with dire consequences if the video was not deleted the same night.
Shabu R, station house officer (SHO) of Thrikkakara police station, said Bala will be questioned soon. “We will question Bala after the preliminary investigation is completed. The three accomplices have to be identified by the complainant,” he said.
Aju posted a YouTube video recorded in front of the Thrikkakara police station on Friday night. He claimed that Bala came with three hired ruffians and threatened his flatmate by brandishing a gun. In another video posted on Saturday, Aju called Bala a migrant worker and dared him to repeat the act. Aju said he is not intimidated by Bala and demanded a police probe into whether the actor is licensed to carry a gun.
On his part, Bala posted a video on his Facebook page claiming that he went to the apartment to speak to Aju and convince him against posting abusive content. Bala said it was an act of protest against the objectionable content on Aju’s YouTube channel.
It all started after a video clip of Kochi native Santhosh Varkey verbally abusing actor Mohanlal was widely circulated on social media. Santhosh and Bala recently featured in a Facebook video, in which, Santhosh, on the insistence of the latter, apologises for his verbal abuse of Mohanlal. Aju followed it up with a stinging video, criticising Bala for arm-twisting Santhosh into tendering an apology.