KOCHI: Award-winning Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan landed in police custody on Thursday following a complaint by actress Manju Warrier that he threatened and defamed her.
According to the police, Sanal (45), was taken into custody from his house in Parassala, Thiruvananthapuram at around noon. He will be brought to Kochi, where the case has been registered.
Sanal, known for films such as Sexy Durga in 2017 (Hivos Tiger Award, Rotterdam film festival), Chola in 2019 and Ozhivudivasathe Kali in 2015 (Best Film, Kerala State Government), resisted the police persons from Kochi's Elamakkara station who reached Parasala to arrest him. He claimed on a Facebook live that he was being kidnapped by a group of people and that his life was in danger when the police took him into custody.
Later, police from Parassal police station reached the spot and assisted the police team from Kochi in taking Sanal into custody. Sanal's arrest would be recorded after being brought to Elamakkara Police Station.
In a recent Facebook post, Sanal said the life of Manju was in danger. According to him, she is facing danger from people close to her. He made an Instagram post that Manju is in the custody of some people with a vested interest. Sanal named that her managers Bineesh Chandran and Binu Nair would be responsible if anything adverse happens to Manju. It is to be noted that, he casted Manju in film Kayyattam in 2020.
Recently, Sanal sent a letter to the President of India and Chief Justice raising apprehension about the law and order situation in Kochi. He cited the life threat faced by Manju and various death cases to point out that Kerala's law and order situation is worsening day by day.
ALSO WATCH |