Boby Chemmanur, a prominent businessman in Kerala, has been taken into custody by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) after sexual harassment charges were filed by Malayalam actor Honey Rose, news agency PTI confirmed citing unnamed officials. An official said he was picked by the cops from Wayanad after a case was registered under non-bailable sections against him.

Reacting to the police action, Ms Rose told a news channel it was a peaceful day for her and that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had assured her of strong action when she had raised the issue with him.

In a social media post earlier this week, the actor narrated she was being harassed, but did not name anyone. A barrage of cyberattacks soon followed and dozens of arrests were made by the police.

“Personally, I tend to ignore such awful remarks from mentally disturbed people with contempt and sympathy, but it does not mean that I am incapable of responding to them,” she had said while warning of legal consequences.

Ms Rose, who got her breakthrough role in 2012 in ‘Trivandrum Lodge’, went to the cops this week accusing Chemmanur – who heads a jewellery business – of making “repeated sexually coloured” remarks. After filing a police complaint this week, she revealed the incident occurred four months back, leaving her family disturbed.

Chemmanur is the chairman of the Chemmanur Group, a huge business conglomerate that deals in jewellery. He was instrumental in bringing football legend Diego Maradona to Kerala in 2012.

Following the police complaint against him, an SIT was constituted to probe the charges and the accused was detained on Wednesday.

At least 17 people were injured, one of them critically, when an elephant lost his cool during a temple festival in Kerala’s Malappuram district late last night.

Hundreds had gathered at the Puthiyangadi festival at Tirur. Visuals show at least five elephants adorned with golden plates at the festival as people in the crowd tried to film them. Suddenly, one of them becomes agitated and charges into the crowd as the mahout struggles to control it. This elephant, named Pakkathu Sreekuttan, is then seen lifting a man and swinging him in the air before flinging him away.

The condition of the man is critical, according to reports, and he is being treated at a hospital in Kotakkal. Visuals captured the panic in the crowd as people struggled to run to safety. Most injuries were the result of the stampede-like situation due to the panic.

Some men were seen trying to restrain the elephant with chains. It took nearly two hours to bring the elephant under control.

Sharmistha Mukherjee has slammed the Congress for not welcoming a memorial dedicated to her father, Pranab Mukherjee, calling it an insult to the Constitution.