Writer VR Sudheesh has been booked by the Kerala police for allegedly harassing and stalking a woman publisher. The publisher had also taken to social media to oust the writer and alleged that he had been harassing multiple women, under the pretext of working with them. According to the First Information Report (FIR) against Sudheesh, he has been booked under sections 354A(1)(ii) (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 354-D(1)(i) (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) besides section 120(o) (penalty for causing nuisance and violation of public order) of the Kerala Police (KP) Act.
Speaking to TNM, MA Shahanas — Director and Chief Editor at Macbeth publication and media — said that Sudheesh, on multiple occasions, had harassed her with a sexual intent. “He used to ask me to come to his house to make some corrections or some editing work for a book that we are publishing, and if I do not go alone, he used to get angry. Even when there was no work to be done at all, he used to do this. Even after I filed the complaint, he started threatening me through a woman and some of my friends. He said he would be releasing photos of me to defame me. However, I am going forward with this case. I want to see what photos he is talking about,” she said.
Shahanas also published a Facebook post with the title, “This is not my me too but only my response”. She has alleged that the writer has misbehaved with multiple persons on many occasions, which was disclosed to her. Shahanas has also alleged that he had sent her a voice note with a disrespectful message.