Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, who was arrested a day ago by the Kerala Police on charges of stalking based on a complaint filed by actor Manju Warrier, was granted bail by the Aluva First Class Judicial Magistrate Court on Friday, May 6. Manju had complained that Sanal had been stalking her since August 2019, and that he had also proposed to her through email, social media, phone, and through friends, even though she always rejected his advances. He was booked under Section 354D (Stalking) of the Indian Penal Code, and was arrested near Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram. The case was filed at the Elamakkara Police Station in Ernakulam.
Over the past few days, Sanal had been making baseless claims on social media, suggesting that Manju's life was in danger. A source close to Manju said she was disturbed by the posts, and that Sanal continued to write such posts about the actor despite her warning him not to do so. On May 1, Sanal claimed on social media that Manju was kidnapped and that her life was in danger. However, the claim later turned out to be false.
On Thursday, Sanal appeared on a Facebook Live video telecasting him resisting the arrest, while claiming that he was being kidnapped by some unknown men. Later in the video, police officers from Parassala can be seen arriving at the spot and informing the filmmaker that they were mufti police (police in plainclothes) and that he was being arrested. Sanal is also heard shouting in the video that he was being taken away to be killed, and that he had been under the scanner of some mafia groups for some time now.
Manju has acted in the movie Kayattam (2020) directed by Sanal, who is known best for his critically acclaimed film Ozhivudivasathe Kali (2015).