Debutant
Malayalam
director
Liju
Krishna
has
been
arrested
for
allegedly
raping
a
young
woman
on
the
pretext
of
marriage.
According
to
reports,
he
was
arrested
on
Sunday
(March
6)
from
the
shooting
location
of
his
upcoming
film
Padavettu
starring
Nivin
Pauly
and
Manju
Warrier
in
the
lead
roles.
The
shooting
was
reportedly
underway
in
Kerala's
Kannur.
He
was
produced
before
the
magistrate
after
bringing
him
to
Kochi.
Shedding
light
on
the
case,
a
police
official
told
NDTV
that
the
complainant
is
not
a
part
of
the
film
industry.
He
was
quoted
as
saying,
"Liju
Krishna
has
been
arrested
under
section
376
IPC.
We
cannot
give
out
any
details
of
the
complainant,
but
she
isn't
from
the
film
industry
as
such.
Instead,
(she)
is
someone
well
known
to
him."
Soon
after
Krishna's
arrest,
FEFKA
(Film
Employees
Federation
of
Kerala)
revoked
his
membership.
WCC
(Women
in
Cinema
Collective)
members,
on
the
other
hand,
sought
his
suspension
from
all
film
bodies.
As
of
now,
the
shoot
of
Padavettu,
one
of
Nivin's
highly
anticipated
films,
has
been
halted
owing
to
the
same
reason
and
the
makers
are
yet
to
respond
to
the
ongoing
case
and
allegations
against
the
director.
Shine
Tom
Chacko,
Aditi
Balan
and
Shammy
Thilakan
are
also
a
part
of
the
film
which
marks
the
production
debut
of
celebrated
actor
Sunny
Wayne.
For
women
in
distress
or
facing
harassment,
help
available
in
India
at
the
following
helpline
numbers:
Central
Social
Welfare
Board
-
Police
Helpline:
1091/
1291,
(011)
23317004;
Shakti
Shalini-
women's
shelter:
(011)
24373736/
24373737;
All
India
Women's
Conference:
10921/
(011)
23389680;
Joint
Women's
Programme:
(011)
24619821;
Sakshi-
violence
intervention
center:
(0124)
2562336/
5018873;
Nirmal
Niketan
(011)
27859158;
JAGORI
(011)
26692700;
Nari
Raksha
Samiti:
(011)
23973949;
RAHI
Recovering
and
Healing
from
Incest.
A
support
centre
for
women
survivors
of
child
sexual
abuse:
(011)
26238466/
26224042,
26227647.