Kerala High Court grants protection from arrest to actress Lakshmi Menon in abduction case

Actress Lakshmi R Menon has moved an anticipatory bail plea before the Kerala High Court in a case connected to the assault and abduction of an information technology (IT) professional [Lakshmi R Menon v State off Kerala]

When the matter came up today, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas ordered that the actress shall not be arrested until September 17.

The petition will be heard again on the said date.

According to reports, the case against Menon and others was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by an IT professional, who alleged that a dispute broke out at a pub named 'Velocity' in Kochi where the actress along with the other accused were present.

When the complainant and his friends tried to leave, the accused allegedly chased their car and intercepted him and dragged him out of the vehicle. He was then forced into the accused's vehicle and assaulted.

An online video footage of the incident also surfaced, showing Menon and her group stopping the complainant's car.

Menon, however, has maintained in her anticipatory bail plea that the allegations are false and motivated and that she had no role in the alleged offences.

The complaint was fabricated in order to tarnish her reputation, she said in her plea.