By Bhawna Arya
Malayalam actor Minu Muneer has been arrested in respect to the defamation case filed by veteran actor-director Balachandra Menon. Minu was arrested after allegations were made against Balachandra Menon in 2024. She had accused him of sexual misconduct. These allegations surfaced in the aftermath of the Hema Committee Report, which exposed widespread sexual harassment and abuse of power within the Malayalam film industry. However, after being taken into custody and formally arrested, Minu was released the same day after she was granted anticipatory bail by the Kerala High Court. Minu Muneer levelled sexual assault allegations against Balachandra Menon in 2024 The controversy began in 2024, when the Hema Committee Report shed light on multiple instances of sexual harassment across the Malayalam film fraternity. In the wake of this report, Minu came forward with allegations not only against Balachandra Menon but also against several other prominent figures in the industry. Balachandra Menon categorically denied the accusations and retaliated by filing a defamation complaint against Minu and another woman. His complaint detailed claims that they had threatened him, consistently sought to tarnish his reputation through repeated interviews, shared his photographs on social media platforms, and actively encouraged derogatory comments from others. ALSO READ: Kerala Police Registers FIR Against Mukesh M After Actress Alleges Sexual Abuse Cybercrime police registered FIR against Minu Muneer Following the complaint, the cybercrime police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Minu on October 2, 2024. The charges brought against her included criminal intimidation under Section 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), violations related to the publication or transmission of obscene or sexually explicit material in electronic form under Sections 67 and 67(a) of the Information Technology Act, and Section 120(O) of the Kerala Police Act for disturbing public order. Minu Muneer levelled allegations against MLA Mukesh, actors Jayasurya, Edavela Babu Apart from her allegations against Balachandra Menon, Minu had also accused other influential figures within the industry of sexual harassment. These included actor and CPI(M) MLA Mukesh, actors Jayasurya, Edavela Babu, and Maniyanpilla Raju, production controllers Noble and Vichu, as well as producer and Lawyers’ Congress president V.S. Chandrasekharan. Minu made these accusations public through a Facebook post and subsequently filed formal complaints against each individual with the Kerala police on August 27, 2024.