Court grants bail to director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan in stalking case
May 06, 2022
Kochi (Kerala) [India], May 7 : Aluva First Class Judicial Magistrate Court on Friday has granted bail to Malayalam film director Sanal Kumar Sasidharan in a complaint related to alleged stalking by actor Manju Warrier.
Elamakkara police in Kochi have taken Sanal into custody from Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram district on Thursday. Later, they have recorded his arrest in a case for stalking and harassment both physically and over social media by invoking IPC Section 354D of Indian Penal Code.
However, the director denied stalking or harassing the actor.
Last month, Sasidharan had made a Facebook post expressing fear that the actor's life was in danger and that she was being controlled by her aides based on what he claimed to be the experiences during the making of the film.
Sasidharan recently took to social media to say he had written to the President of India and the Chief Justice of India over what he claimed was a breakdown of law and order in Kerala. He had been making disjointed remarks about being under threat.
"I do not know if it was Manju Warrier who lodged this complaint. I still believe that Manju's life is in danger. I'm not sure if Manju is in control of anyone. I have posted a facebook post saying that she is in detention of some persons," said Sasidharan.
"I said that I wrote a letter to the President of India and the Chief Justice of India. The letter said that the social fabric of Kerala has suffered a significant breakdown and law and order is being disrupted. The case came up the day after the letter was written," he added.
"Before posting this issue on facebook, I have sent a message to Manju stating that her life was in danger. However, I did not get an answer from her and proceeded to post it. Our society has a responsibility to find out if she is in detention. My responsibility was to call it out. But still there was no response from anywhere," he stated.
Further, he alleged, "the police did not call him on his phone, instead they traced my location as if I am a terrorist and was forcibly taken away. He further alleged that the police grabbed his phone while he was trying to go live on Facebook."
"I did not harass Manju. I have posted this in facebook seven days ago. I texted her before I post. I have a fear that her life is in danger," he further stated.
