Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, a well known, award winning director was arrested by the Kerala police on Thursday, May 5, following a complaint filed by actor Manju Warrier. He was arrested near Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram.
Sanal, known for films such as Sexy Durga in 2017 (Hivos Tiger Award, Rotterdam film festival), Chola in 2019 and Ozhivudivasathe Kali in 2015 (Best Film, Kerala State Government), resisted the police persons from Kochi’s Elamakkara station who reached Parasala to arrest him. He claimed on a Facebook live that he was being kidnapped by a group of people and that his life was in danger when the police took him into custody.
On May 1, Sanal Kumar Sasidharan first posted on social media accounts claiming that Manju was kidnapped and her life was in danger. Some of the media in Kerala and Tamil Nadu reported it based on his post. However, this later turned out to be false.
Recently, Sanal sent a letter to the President of India and Chief Justice raising apprehension about the law and order situation in Kochi. He cited the life threat faced by Manju and various death cases to point out that Kerala’s law and order situation is worsening day by day.
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan Arrest is shocking
The complaint was filed by the actor at Elamakkara police station in Ernakulam district. Following this, a few policemen from Elamakkara reached Thiruvananthapuram in mufti (plainclothes) to arrest the director. He has been booked under Section 354D (Stalking) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The complaint said that Sanal Kumar Sasidharan was stalking Manju since August, 2019, and that he had also proposed to her through email, social media, phone, and through friends but she had rejected his advances.
A Facebook Live by Sanal Kumar on Thursday showed him resisting arrest, and claiming that he was being kidnapped by unknown men. In the live video, police officers from Parassala are seen reaching the spot and informing Sanal Kumar that the men in mufti are police and he is being arrested. Sanal was also heard shouting in the video that he was being taken away to be killed, and that he was under the scanner of some mafia for some time now.
For the last few days, the filmmaker has been making various unfounded claims on social media, suggesting that Manju Warrier’s life is in danger. A source close to Manju Warrier said that she was irritated and disturbed by the posts and despite warning him not to persist writing about her, he continues to do so.