Actress Lakshmi R Menon moved an anticipatory bail plea before the Kerala High Court on Wednesday 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 for hearing, 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 the First Information Report (FIR), the case against Menon and the others was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by an IT professional.The complainant alleged that on August 24, 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 has been charged under Sections 140 (2) (kidnapping & abducting), 126 (wrongful restraint), 296 (obscene acts), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.In her anticipatory bail plea, the actress maintained that the allegations against her were false and motivated and that she had no role in the alleged offences.She stated that on the night in question, she and her friend Sonamol were sitting at the bar when the complainant and his friends approached them, made obscene gestures and behaved aggressively.Menon alleged that her group left the venue in car but were pursued and obstructed by the complainant and his friends near the Ernakulam North Rail Over Bridge.The petition highlighted that the complainant and his friends allegedly threw a beer bottle, injuring Menon's friend Sonamol and tried to forcibly enter their car, but she and her friends managed to escape.She further claimed in her plea that the complaint was fabricated in order to tarnish her reputation.She stated that custodial interrogation was unnecessary, as she is a law abiding citizen with no prior criminal record and agreed to cooperate fully with the police investigation..The petition was moved by advocates Biju Balakrishnan, VS Rakhee, KJ Gisha, Akshaya S Nair and Jayakumar C.
