The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (August 27) granted interim protection from arrest to Malayalam actress Lakshmi Menon in connection with an abduction and assault case. Menon had approached the court seeking anticipatory bail after being named as an accused.
According to a report in Bar and Bench, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas directed that she shall not be arrested until September 17, when the petition will be heard again.
According to police, the case was registered on the complaint of a techie from Aluva, who alleged that he was kidnapped and assaulted following a dispute at a pub named Velocity in Kochi.
The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday night near the Ernakulam North railway overbridge. According to media reports, the complainant alleged that as he and his friends tried to leave the pub, Menon and her associates chased their vehicle, intercepted them, dragged him out, and forced him into another car where he was assaulted.
Three of Menon's friends, reportedly identified as Mithun, Aneesh, and Sonamol, all residents of Kochi, have already been arrested in connection with the case. Police stated that the alleged abduction was carried out in retaliation for an argument that broke out between the complainant's friend and Menon's group at the restobar.
Video footage of the incident has also surfaced online, purportedly showing Menon and her group stopping the complainant's car.
In her anticipatory bail plea, however, Menon has denied the charges, claiming the allegations are "false and motivated." She maintained that the case was fabricated with the intention of tarnishing her reputation and stressed that she had no role in the alleged offences.
Lakshmi has also appeared in several Tamil films. She made her acting debut with a supporting role in the Malayalam film Raghuvinte Swantham Raziya in 2011. She then starred in the Tamil film Sundara Pandian as a lead actress in 2012.
