The #MeToo movement across the Malayalam film industry has created waves across the country with several young actors now speaking out about the abuse they faced at the hands of veteran directors, producers, and actors. Film director Ranjith now facing serious allegations of sexual misconduct, with two separate cases filed against him. The latest complaint has been lodged by a young actor who alleges he was sexually abused by Ranjith in 2012.

According to the complaint filed with the Kochi police, the victim was lured to a hotel in Bengaluru under the pretext of an audition. Ranjith allegedly forced the victim to strip and assaulted him, promising prominent roles in exchange. The victim claimed he believed it was part of the audition process and was even offered money the next morning.

This is the second case of sexual allegations against Ranjith. Earlier, Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra had filed a complaint against him, alleging rape. The Kochi police have registered an FIR in connection with her complaint, which alleges that she was raped in a hotel in Kochi.

Ranjith denied the accusations, explaining that Mitra was called for an audition for the movie ‘Paleri Manikyam’, but he decided that she was not suitable for the role and sent her back.

Amid mounting pressure on the government, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday announced the establishment of a seven-member special investigation team for the probe into the allegations made in the wake of the Hema Committee report being published.

A 21-year-old student from Nepal was shot dead allegedly by an Indian-origin man at her apartment in US during a robbery, police said on Saturday. The man, who has been identified as 52-year-old Bobby Sinh Shah, has been arrested.

Muna Pandey, a community college student, was found with multiple gunshot wounds inside her Houston apartment around 5.30 pm on Monday, police said. Staff at her apartment complex told police that they received an anonymous call about a body inside the apartment. When the police reached the scene, she was declared dead.

Two days later, police released a photo of Shah who was caught on CCTV leaving her apartment on Saturday. Police said Shah was arrested later that day at a traffic stop and charged with murder.

According to a GoFundMe page, Ms Pandey had moved to study at the Houston Community College from Nepal in 2021. Her mother had been trying to reach her for days before her body was found inside her apartment, a member of Nepalese Association of Houston told the New York Post.

“What her Mom said is her phone was always online. After Saturday night, phone was offline. She had three gunshots and she was laying down on the bed, with head down. Hopefully, the investigation will come up with some idea of how this happened,” he said, adding that Ms Pandey was an only child. 

The association is working with the Nepal Consulate to help make travel arrangements for Ms Pandey’s mother to fly to Houston. 

“We are reaching out to you, our community, to help bring Anita to the United States so she can say goodbye to her only child and give Muna the farewell she deserves. The funds raised will be used to cover the costs of Muna’s funeral and to bring her mother to Houston to be with her daughter’s body for the final rituals,” reads the GoFundMe page that has raised nearly $30,000.