Renowned Malayalam director-producer Ranjith was arrested on charges of sexual assault late on Tuesday, March 31. The arrest comes after a young female actor filed a complaint with Kochi police. Ranjith was reportedly taken into custody in Idukki and later handed over to Kochi police.
Ranjith arrested
Ernakulam Central Police allegedly arrested Ranjith with the assistance of local authorities in Thodupuzha, as per reports. According to police sources, Ranjith was blocked while travelling through the town for a scheduled event. Following instructions from the Idukki Superintendent of Police, the operation to arrest him was reportedly conducted with “utmost secrecy” to avoid public disruption.
The director was first taken to the Thodupuzha police station for the necessary formalities. Later, he was subsequently shifted to the Ernakulam Central Police Station to proceed with the investigation.
About the case against Ranjith
The case involved an incident that allegedly occurred on the set of a film that is currently in production. The female actor accused Ranjith of inappropriate behaviour during a filming schedule, according to reports.
The victim initially filed a formal grievance with the film’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) before taking the legal route. After the committee reviewed the grievance, it passed the case over to the Kerala Police for further action. According to officials, the entire preliminary inquiry was conducted with strict privacy, ensuring the sensitive details of the complaint were kept confidential.
Notably, this not the first time the filmmaker has been embroiled in a sexual assault case. Back in 2024, Ranjith had stepped down as Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman amid harassment claims by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra. He had refuted the allegations after his resignation.
Reacting to the allegations against him, Ranjith had said, “A Bengali actor, Sreelekha Mitra, has raised very serious personal allegations against me. This has been happening for some time. To be precise, since the time I took over as the chairman of Kerala Chalachitra Academy, a group of people have been trying for a long time. This allegation [of Sreelekha] that came out before the public is a result of this.”
In Kerala, there were calls for Ranjith to resign as the film academy chairman, including filmmaker Dr Biju speaking out against him.
