Lakshmi Menon claims the complainant insulted her. The victim alleges he was forcibly taken from his vehicle, assaulted, and threatened before being released. The court will hear arguments after Onam holidays.
Kochi (Kerala): Kerala High Court has stayed the arrest of actor Lakshmi Menon in a case of alleged abduction and assault of an IT employee. The High Court will hear detailed arguments in the anticipatory bail plea after the Onam holidays. The police had arrested three people who were with Lakshmi Menon in the incident. The arrested were identified as Mithun, Aneesh, and Sona Mol. Lakshmi moved the High Court seeking pre-arrest bail with the contention that the complainant had insulted her and Sonamol.
The case was registered on Monday based on a complaint filed by an IT employee, Aliyarsha Salim, from Aluva. The alleged incident of abduction and assault followed a bar brawl in the city on Sunday night, according to the FIR. The case has been registered by the Ernakulam Town North police in the incident. The actor was absconding. The incident that led to the case took place near Ernakulam North Bridge. The accused allegedly took Aliyarsha away when he came out of his vehicle. He was allegedly beaten up and threatened with murder by the abductors before being abandoned near Aluva-Paravur junction.
Police said the altercation escalated after the victim and his friends left the restaurant to avoid further conflict. Menon and her associates allegedly chased down their vehicle, intercepted them on the overbridge, and confronted them. “An argument broke out again, and one of the accused dragged the complainant out of the vehicle and forced him into their car. He was allegedly assaulted, threatened, and verbally abused while being driven to Vedimara junction in Paravur, where he was dropped off around midnight,” a senior police officer said.
(With inputs from ANI)