KOCHI /MALAPPURAM: After being on the run for two days, the two youths who allegedly molested a young actor at a shopping mall in Kochi landed in police custody on Sunday. Ramshad (25) and Adhil (24) of Kadannamanna near Mankada in Perinthalmanna were arrested from Cusat junction at Kalamassery around 9 pm while they were on their way, along with their lawyer, to surrender, said Santhosh PR, Inspector of Police, Kalamassery.
In a video sent to television channels earlier in the day, the two claimed to be innocent, but said they were ready to apologise. They added that after the police released CCTV visuals of them visiting the mall, they were not able to go out in public. Later in the day, the actor said in an Instagram post that she has accepted the youths' apology.
Didn't brush against actor on purpose, claims accused duo
According to the accused duo, they visited the mall after attending a job interview. They approached her at the mall when they learnt she was an actor.
"We saw people posing for photos with her but didn’t recognise her. When we asked her if she was an actor, she was in no mood to speak to us. We didn’t speak to her further and left the spot.We may have accidentally brushed against her when we were leaving, but it was not on purpose. We are willing to apologise to her," said the accused.
The Kalamassery police had sent a team to Malappuram to take them into custody. However, when the sleuths along with Malappuram police arrived at the residence of one of them, they came to know that the duo had left for Kochi to surrender.
The incident happened on Thursday evening when the actor, accompanied by her mother and sister, visited the shopping mall at Edappally. The actor herself revealed the harrowing experience through a social media post.