Malayalam actor Sreejith Ravi was arrested in a child sexual abuse case in Thrissur on Thursday, 7 July, under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, 2012.
The Thrissur West police reportedly arrested him over an incident that happened on 4 July, when he allegedly flashed his genitals at two children. According to reports, the two minors, aged 9 and 14 years, complained that Sreejith flashed them at SN Park, Ayyanthole in Thrissur on Monday, 4 July.
CCTV footage examined by the police reportedly confirmed that the man was Sreejith.
Second Case Of Sexual Harassment
This is not the first time that the actor has been accused of child sexual abuse. Earlier in 2016, he was arrested by the Ottappalam police in a similar case.
It was alleged that Sreejith had flashed his private parts at a group of school-going girl students and took photographs of them.
Sreejith was booked under the POCSO Act following a complaint filed by the school principal, based on what nearly 15 girls said they had witnessed.
Sreejith was arrested after the students identified the actor based on photographs.
The initial complaint had said that on 27 August 2016, a man had stopped his car and showed his private parts and took photographs of the girls, before driving away when the girls raised an alarm.
The complainants had initially mentioned the vehicle number of the car, which belonged to the actor, and later identified the man as Sreejith.
At the time, Sreejith had initially denied his involvement in the incident. He claimed that the students may have made a mistake while noting down the vehicle number.
Despite being identified by the students and being booked for the 2016 incident, Sreejith, who is the son of actor TG Ravi, has continued to appear in Malayalam films.
The actor, who usually appears in supporting roles and villain roles, has appeared in films like Godha, Ramaleela, and several other Malayalam films, and also a couple of Tamil films, since 2016.
(This has been published in partnership with The News Minute)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)