Kerala actress assault: 2 held, hunt on for six

Kochi, February 19

The Kerala police today intensified its efforts to arrest those involved in the alleged harassment of a noted South Indian actress amid mounting pressure from the film fraternity and political parties for stern action.

When asked about reports on the arrest of two persons from “quotation gang”, a top police officer said: “Some people have been taken into custody. We would be able to talk about their role in the incident only after a proper verification.”

The police said hunt was on to nab the accused, including the mastermind, history sheeter Pulser Suni, who had earlier worked as driver for some noted Malayalam film actors, including actor-turned politician Mukesh. The actress’ driver Martin was taken into custody yesterday for allegedly conniving with the gang that executed the crime.

The actress was harassed for two hours allegedly by a gang of men who forced their way into her car before fleeing at a busy area here on February 17 night. Suni allegedly engaged members of a notorious ‘quotation gang’ for attacking the actress while she was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi for the dubbing work of a Malayalam film in which she plays a key role.

Meanwhile, political parties and Malayalam film world have condemned the incident and mounted pressure on the government to arrest the accused at the earliest.

Police teams have been sent to places, including Coimbatore, in search of at least six more culprits involved in the crime. State DGP Loknath Behera has constituted a special investigation team to probe the case. The police suspect that six to seven men, including the actress’ driver, were involved in the crime. — PTI