Malayalam filmmaker Ranjith was arrested by Kochi City police on Tuesday night following a sexual harassment complaint lodged by a young actress. Ranjith was detained by the Thodupuzha police while he was travelling to Idukki on Tuesday. A team of Kochi City police reached Thodupuzha later and recorded his arrest. He will be brought to Kochi later in the night and produced before the magistrate.

According to police sources, a complaint was lodged by the actress alleging sexual harassment at a film shooting location in Kochi a few days ago, following which an FIR was registered at the Vanitha Police Station.

The police conducted a preliminary enquiry, and upon establishing prima facie evidence, proceeded with the arrest. The charges invoked include outraging the modesty of a woman and sexual harassment under Sections 74 and 75, respectively, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. He was also slapped with charges pertaining to wrongful confinement.

The operation was carried out by the Kochi City police secretly with the support of local police in Thodupuzha. Acting on instructions from Ernakulam Range Deputy Inspector general and the Idukki Superintendent of police, the team conducted the operation discreetly to avoid public attention.

This is not the first time allegations have surfaced against Ranjith. Earlier, a Bengali actress had accused him of misconduct during discussions related to his film Paleri Manikyam. The case eventually led to his resignation as chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.

However, in October 2025, the Kerala High Court quashed the case filed by the actress, noting that the statutory time limit to initiate legal proceedings for the alleged 2009 incident had expired.

In a separate case, a young man from Kozhikode had accused Ranjith of sexually assaulting him in Bengaluru. The Karnataka High Court later dismissed the case, citing a delay of 12 years in filing the complaint, lack of clarity in the allegations, and the suspicious nature of the delay.