Who is Lakshmi Menon? Tamil actress accused in a kidnapping and assault case of a techie

Actor Lakshmi Menon, known for her work in Tamil and Malayalam films, and three others are accused of "abducting and assaulting" an IT professional in Ernakulam, Kerala, following an argument at a bar. The incident happened on the night of 24 Aug, when the actress and her friends allegedly stopped the victim's vehicle and pushed him into their car.

The incident happened on the night of Sunday (Aug 24) at a bar in Kochi, where the actress, along with the other accused, was present. A video from the incident has surfaced online, showing the actress and her friends in a verbal fight with another man, whom they took with them in their car.

Lakshmi Menon moves to the Madras High Court

As the matter escalated, actress Lakshmi Menon approached the Kerala High Court for an anticipatory bail plea. As per Bar and Bench, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas ordered that the actress shall not be arrested until September 17. The case was registered by an IT professional, who got into a fight with the actress and her friends.

The dispute broke out at a pub when the actress was present. However, the matter escalated when the victim and his friends tried to leave the pub. Menon and her friends chased them. The techie, who hails from Aluva, claims that the actress and her friends stopped them near the Ernakulam North railway overbridge. He alleged that the actress and her friends took him in their car and assaulted him inside the vehicle.

In the complaint filed in Ernakulam North, the victim said that the gang assaulted him verbally and threatened him inside the vehicle. They dropped him at Vedimara Junction around midnight on Monday, as per the Indian Express.

The complaint was registered under various sections, and the three persons, identified as Mithun, Aneesh, and Sonamol, were arrested. The case was registered against the four persons under sections 3(5) (common intention), 140(2) (kidnapping or abduction), 126 (wrongful restraint), 296 (obscene acts and songs), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The actress was reported to be on the run. ''The actor’s phone is switched off, and she is on the run. We are tracing her and she will be arrested,” the source said, as per the Indian Express.

Who is Lakshmi Menon?

Known for her work in Tamil and Malayalam cinema, Lakshmi Menon started her career as a classical dancer. However, she transitioned into films soon after. The actress made her acting debut in 2011 with the Malayalam film Raghuvinte Swantham Raziya. However, she got her breakthrough in 2012 with the Tamil film Sundarapandian. She has won several awards, such as the SIIMA Awards, the Filmfare Award South, and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award.

The actress is an active social media user with over 335K followers.