Kerala Cyber Police book Malayalam YouTube news channels for allegedly defaming veteran actor-director Balachandra Menon

Balachandra Menon had petitioned CM Pinarayi Vijayan and State Police Chief Sheikh Darvesh Saheb stating that he was the target of a blackmail and defamation bid by an actor and a person claiming to be her lawyer. 

The Kerala Police’s Cyberwing has booked several Malayalam YouTube news channels, some focussing on the film industry, for allegedly broadcasting defamatory statements and videos against veteran actor and director Balachandra Menon. 

Mr. Menon had petitioned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and State Police Chief Sheikh Darvesh Saheb on Saturday (September 28, 2024), stating that he was the target of a blackmail and defamation bid by an actor and a person claiming to be her lawyer. 

Mr. Menon stated that a person claiming to be the woman’s lawyer had approached him seeking an amicable settlement involving a significant amount of money as a quid pro quo for the woman not raising accusations of sexual exploitation against him on conventional and social media. 

The caller also threatened to file at least three criminal miscellaneous petitions against Mr. Menon in magistrate courts seeking registration of first information reports on the charge of sexual assaulting the actor if the movie maker did not comply with the duo’s demands. 

In his complaint, Mr. Menon said that calls from various numbers beset him, and he stopped attending them.

Subsequently, Mr. Menon said, the woman defamed him in interviews with several online news channels. The YouTube broadcasts went viral, causing the actor and his family intense distress. 

The woman who featured in the news channels had also raised accusations of sexual exploitation against several people, including actors Maniyan Pillai Raju, M. Mukesh MLA and Jayasurya.

The actors have openly refuted the accusation, though the police registered FIRs against them based on the woman’s statement. 

The Cyber Police case registered under the Information Technology Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code entails a punishment of up to two years of simple imprisonment and a fine. 

Published - September 29, 2024 12:18 pm IST