Daily News Dose: Actor Sreejith Ravi held under POCSO for flashing minors | July 7, 2022

Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I'm your host, Vishnu, and these are the major news stories of the day:

1. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign

2. Constitution remark: Saji Cheriyan booked, jail term up to 3 years if found guilty

3. Actor Sreejith Ravi arrested under Pocso for flashing minors, remanded to 14 days in custody

4. Heavy rains lash Kerala, yellow alert in 11 districts, night travel ban imposed in Idukki

5. LPG cylinder price hiked by Rs 50

Let's get into the details:

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1. The BBC on Thursday reported that Boris Johnson will announce his resignation as British Prime Minister after being abandoned by the newly-appointed ministers and more than 50 others in a rebellion that left the Conservative government dangerously close to paralysis. With eight ministers, including two secretaries of state, resigning in a two-hour span, an isolated and powerless Johnson was set to bow to the inevitable and declare he was stepping down, media reports said. 

After days of battling for his job, Johnson had been abandoned by all but a handful of allies. It was a far cry from when Johnson rose to power in 2019 with a large majority, capturing votes even in parts of Britain that had never supported the Conservative Party before.

Surprisingly, even his finance minister, Nadhim Zahawi, who was only appointed to his post on Wednesday, called on Johnson to resign.

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2. Police on Thursday booked Saji Cheriyan, who resigned as State Minister for Fisheries and Culture on Wednesday over his controversial anti-Constitution remarks. The Tiruvalla Judicial First Class Magistrate Court had directed to initiate action against the former Minister under charges of ‘insulting national honour’.

The Court’s order is based on a petition from Ernakulam-based Advocate Baiju Noel, who sought action against Saji Cheriyan in view of the police's inaction. He was booked under Section 2 of Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. 

The offence shall be punished with imprisonment, which may extend up to three years, or with fine, or both.

The DySP has also received 9 other complaints seeking action against him for the remarks.

Saji Cheriyan, during a CPM area committee programme at Mallappally in Pathanamthitta recently, remarked that ‘the Indian Constitution was written in such a way that the commoners could be exploited.’ His comment led to immediate outrage from various quarters, with many calling for his resignation.

Meanwhile, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led left government is not keen to replace the post left vacant by Cheriyan. As of now, the CM has taken the responsibility for the departments. There are also hints that Saji Cheriyan may return to the cabinet, like how E P Jayarajan and A K Saseendran returned to the cabinet in the first term of the Pinarayi Government. However, that will depend on the Court’s proceedings as well. 

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3. Popular Malayalam actor Sreejith Ravi was arrested by Thrissur West Police in a POCSO case for allegedly flashing at two children aged 9 and 14 near S N Park in Ayyanthole, police said. 

The case was registered based on a complaint of their parents that an unidentified person, who came in a black colour car, had behaved indecently towards the two minors in a nearby park on July 4.

During the investigation, police examined CCTV visuals of the area and spotted the car. On further probing, it was found that the car belonged to Sreejith.

Later in the day, he was produced before the Thrissur Additional Sessions Court, which denied the actor bail and remanded him to 14 days in custody.

The actor reportedly confessed that he has been undergoing psychotherapy treatment for behavioural disorder. A similar case was registered against Sreejith in 2016 as well, though it eventually fizzled out. The parents of the school girls who were complainants in that case had alleged at the time that police sabotaged the case without collecting the required evidence.

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Before we move on, here's a quick reminder to checkout Onmanorama's other podcasts, Wacky News and News Brake. Wacky News is a collection of the weirdest and strangest news from across the globe and News Brake is a clutter-free explainer of the major news story of the week. Both programmes are available on all podcast platforms. 

Now, back to Daily News Dose.

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4. The India Meteorological Departmet has informed that Kerala is likely to witness heavy rainfall from July 7 to 10. On Thursday, all districts, except Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta were under yellow alert. In Idukki, all educational institutions were given a holiday due to incessant rain and landslides. The authorities even announced night travel restrictions and traffic diversions in the district starting Thursday. According to an official release, travel in the hilly areas of the district has been banned from 8pm to 6am, except for emergency purposes.

Schools in Kannur too were closed on Thursday due to inclement weather. People have been advised to remain vigilant.

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5. After a gap of one month, the price of an LPG cylinder for domestic use has been increased by Rs 50. The price of an LPG cylinder in Kochi has now gone up to Rs 1,060. In May, the price was increased twice, leading to a hike of Rs 54. During the last one year, the total hike stood at Rs 244, which is 23 percent of the present price. At the same time, the price of an LPG cylinder for commercial use has been reduced by Rs 8. With this, a commercial LPG cylinder will cost Rs 2,027.

It was last month that oil companies increased the deposit amount of new LPG connections by Rs 750. Now, a customer has to shell out Rs 2,200 as deposit amount for taking a new connection.

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That brings us to the end of this episode. Be sure to come back tomorrow. As always, thanks for listening to Daily News Dose.