Prominent Kerala businessman held in actress harassment case

Prominent businessman Boby Chemmanur was arrested on Wednesday by a Special Investigation Team investigating the sexual harassment case filed by Malayalam actress Honey Rose, the police said in Kochi.

He was taken into custody from Wayanad on Wednesday morning and brought to Kochi in a police jeep in the evening.

Visuals aired by news channels showed a police team blocking the businessman's car and taking him into custody at a tea estate in Wayanad.

Later, he was taken to a police camp in Puthurvayal before being transported to Kochi.

The journey to Kochi, from the hill district in north Kerala, took around seven hours.

The arrest of Chemmanur, who was brought to the Central Police Station, was recorded at around 7.30 pm, police said.

Earlier, Kochi city police had constituted an SIT to investigate the allegations of sexual harassment filed by the actress against Chemmanur, a jeweller.

He was booked under non-bailable sections following Rose's complaint.

The businessman has been charged under Section 75(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for making sexually coloured remarks as a form of sexual harassment, and Section 67 of the IT Act for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form, the police said.

In her complaint, Rose accused Chemmanur of making "repeated sexually coloured" remarks against her.

Reacting to the police action, Rose said it was a peaceful day for her.

While speaking to the media, Rose said that she had raised the matter with CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who assured her of strong action against the culprit.

Later, in a Facebook post, she thanked the CM and the Kerala police for their support and action.

"These days, one doesn't need a knife or a gun to take someone's life. A barrage of vile, cruel, obscene, and suggestive comments from a group of social media profiles, along with a planned campaign, is enough," she said in the post.

"If there's a leader orchestrating such social media bullying, its intensity only increases. It was impossible not to fight back. I express my heartfelt gratitude to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Kerala police for standing with me and offering unwavering assurance and action in support of my fight to claim the rights and protection promised to every citizen by the Indian Constitution."

"My family and I remain deeply thankful," Rose said.

The issue came to light for the first time on Sunday when the actress posted on Facebook, accusing an individual of stalking her and making sexually inappropriate remarks through various media platforms, which she claimed outraged her modesty.

However, she did not reveal the identity of the accused at that time.

The issue intensified after several people posted offensive comments on her post, prompting Rose to contact the police.

The Kochi Central police have registered a case against 30 people and arrested one of them on this complaint.

Rose, on Tuesday, again came up with a fresh social media post revealing the identity of the person against whom she made sexual harassment allegations in her first complaint.

In the post addressing Boby Chemmannur, she said she filed a complaint against him at the Kochi Central police station.

She also warned others with a "similar mindset" to face legal action.

Rejecting the actress's charges, Chemmanur, however, had said there were no such issues between them as raised by her.

He claimed that he didn't use any derogatory term, as alleged by her, and he always interacted with her in a friendly manner.

Rose is known for her roles in a handful of movies in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu.