YouTube channels booked for defaming actor Balachandra Menon

Cyberwing of the Kerala Police has booked several Malayalam YouTube news channels, some of which cater to the film industry, for allegedly airing defamatory statements and videos against veteran actor and director Balachandra Menon.

Mr Menon had on Saturday (September 28, 2024) filed a petition with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state police chief Sheikh Darvesh Saheb, stating that he was being targeted for blackmail and defamation by an actor and a person claiming to be her lawyer to be.

Mr Menon stated that a person claiming to be the woman’s lawyer had approached him for an out-of-court settlement involving a significant amount of money in return for the woman not accusing him of sexual exploitation on conventional and social media .

The caller also threatened to file at least three separate petitions against Mr Menon in magistrate courts, seeking registration of first information reports on the actor’s sexual abuse allegation if the filmmaker did not comply with the duo’s demands.

In his complaint, Mr. Menon said he received calls from several numbers and stopped answering them.

Mr Menon then said the woman defamed him in interviews with various online news channels. The YouTube broadcasts went viral, causing the actor and his family intense distress.

The woman featured in the news channels had also leveled allegations of sexual exploitation against several people including actors Maniyan Pillai Raju, M. Mukesh MLA and Jayasurya.

The actors have openly refuted the allegation even though the police have registered FIRs against them based on the woman’s statement.

The cyber police case registered under the Information Technology Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code carries a punishment of up to two years of simple imprisonment and a fine.