Malayalam actor Sreejith Ravi, who was arrested on Thursday, July 7, in a child sexual abuse case, was denied bail by a Thrissur court. The actor was arrested on Thursday for allegedly flashing his genitals at two children on July 4. According to reports, the two minors, aged 9 and 14 years, complained that Sreejith flashed them at SN Park, Ayyanthole, following which Sreejith was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Denying him bail, the Thrissur court remanded Sreejith to police custody for 14 days. As per the reports, Sreejith’s lawyer has claimed that the actor has an exhibitionist disorder for which he is purportedly undergoing treatment. The counsel also alleged that the police did not serve a notice to the accused, as required under section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code, before arresting him. However, the prosecution pointed out that this is not the first time Sreejith has been accused of child sexual abuse, and that it would ‘send a bad message’ to allow bail.
The Thrissur West police arrested Sreejith on June 4 after he allegedly flashed his genitals at two minors. One of the children’s fathers told the media that Sreejith had been following the two for close to two days before the incident occured. “He followed the children to the flat compound. He hid behind a pillar and flashed his private parts at the children. They were shocked. He followed them again the next day but after seeing us parents he fled from there. We noted the vehicle number and handed it over to police,” he alleged.
Earlier in 2016, Sreejith was arrested by the Ottappalam police in a similar case. It was alleged that Sreejith had flashed his private parts at a group of school-going girl students and took photographs of them. Sreejith was booked under the POCSO Act following a complaint filed by the school principal, based on what nearly 15 girls said they had witnessed. Sreejith was arrested after the students identified the actor based on photographs.