Latest news with #VenuGopalakrishnan
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Kerala IT firm CEO, who accused ex-employee of extortion, faces sexual harassment complaint from her
An alleged extortion case against a woman former employee of an IT firm and her husband has taken a turn with the CEO of the same company and his three colleagues now facing a case of sexual harassment on the complaint of the woman. A day after Kochi infopark police registered the case against the CEO of Litmus 7 Systems Consulting Private Limited, Venu Gopalakrishnan, on Wednesday, he sought pre-arrest bail from the High Court. The HC restrained the arrest of his colleagues Jacob P Thamby, Eby Paul and Bimalraj Haridas till the government prosecutor files instructions from the police. However, the HC has not given any relief to 51-year-old Venu booked for criminal intimidation, insulting modesty of woman and sexual harassment. The CEO and others faced the case a week after his former colleague and her husband were arrested on charges of extortion. After obtaining bail, the couple filed complaints with police higher ups, leading to registration of FIR against Venu and others. Last month, Venu, in his complaint, had alleged that the couple had accused him of having an affair with the woman and threatened him with a rape case to extort money . He alleged that on July 23, she contacted the three staff members of the company and asked them to come to a hotel in Kochi where the couple allegedly demanded Rs 30 crore to settle the matter. The couple allegedly sought an assurance in writing from Venu and asked him to transfer `10 crore to her account and two cheques for the remaining amount. On July 28, Rs 50,000 was transferred from Venu's account to that of the woman's. The next day, the couple were arrested by the police on charges of extortion and remanded in judicial custody. Days later after they got bail, the couple complained to police alleging sexual harassment by Venu when she worked with him. She said she joined the company in February 2024 and quit after getting married earlier this year, but she alleged that her former employer continued to pester her. She alleged that when she and her husband were about to lodge a complaint against the CEO, the three representatives of the company came for mediation. She alleged that the staff told her Venu was ready to apologise and asked the couple to come to a hotel on July 29, where they were arrested. The couple, in their complaint, said Venu transferred Rs 50,000 to her bank account without information her. In her complaint, she gave details about the alleged incidents of sexual harassment.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Sexual abuse plaint: IT firm owner seeks pre-arrest bail
Kochi: Venu Gopalakrishnan of Kakkanad, the owner of an IT company, and his employees, Jacob P Thampy, Eby Paul and Bimalraj Haridas, have approached high court seeking anticipatory bail in a sexual abuse case filed by a former woman employee of the company, who was earlier arrested in connection with a honey trap case based on a complaint lodged by Gopalakrishnan. Considering the petition, the bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas sought instructions from the state and adjourned the matter to Aug 13. The court also directed that Thampy, Paul and Haridas shall not be arrested until then. According to the prosecution, Gopalakrishnan had allegedly subjected the woman to sexual exploitation, and the other accused had threatened her over the phone, stating that she would be implicated in a honey trap case and, if she lodged a complaint against him, they would kill her, thereby committing the offences alleged. Meanwhile, the petitioners contended that the woman and her husband were previously arrested on July 29 in connection with an alleged attempt by the husband to extort Rs 30 crore from Gopalakrishnan, accusing him of having an illicit relationship with his wife. Both were released on bail the following day. The petition further alleged that, in an apparent attempt to settle scores, the woman subsequently lodged a complaint with police, accusing Gopalakrishnan and his employees of sexual harassment and intimidation.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
Woman files sexual abuse case against Infopark employer
1 2 Kochi: A woman arrested by Kochi city police for allegedly attempting to extort money from her former employer — an IT company owner — has lodged an FIR against him for sexual harassment and intimidation. The Infopark police registered the FIR on Tuesday against Venu Gopalakrishnan (50) of Thuthiyoor, Kakkanad, and his employees Jacob, Ebi and Bimalraj. The FIR was registered under sections 351 (2) (intimidation), 79 (insult to a woman's modesty), 74 (criminal force to a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty), 75 (sexual harassment) and 3(5) (common intention) and IT Act. The alleged incident, as per the FIR, occurred between Feb 14, 2024 and July 24, 2025. Ernakulam Central police booked the couple on July 28 for the husband's purported bid to extort Rs 30 crore from Gopalakrishnan alleging he had an illicit relationship with his wife. The couple was arrested the following day but granted bail on July 30. The woman filed the sexual harassment complaint against Gopalakrishnan and others following that. In the bail plea filed before Ernakulam chief judicial magistrate, the couple stated the case was falsely foisted as the woman was about to complain as per sexual harassment at workplace act. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cardiologists: 1 Teaspoon of This Before Bed Melts Belly Fat Like Crazy Portal Life Click Here Undo They alleged that Gopalakrishnan, with the help of a director at the company and other staffers, tried to settle the issue. Under the guise of mediation, they were called to a hotel's dining area. Though the employer had offered to apologize, they were arrested, the husband and wife alleged. In the bail plea, the couple alleged that the case was registered with the help of police higher-ups. The court noted in the bail order that the arrest appeared to have been done hurriedly and that after registering the FIR, a trap was seemingly laid to bring the couple to the hotel. The order said that quite unusually, like in NDPS cases, a tahsildar was brought in as a witness. The couple was arrested allegedly with three stamp papers, with the content being suppression of digital content in the form of screenshots, chats, etc. , in possession of the woman, which needs to be seen in the light of the claim of initiation of steps under the POSH Act, the bail order noted. It added that the arrest should have been preceded by an inquiry into what those digital contents were. "In the FIR, it is stated that the threatening conversation of the second accused (husband) is recorded but the remand report does not show that it was collected before the hurried arrest…." the order said. It added whether someone would create documents to prove extortion when he actually intends to extort is also doubtful and that the arrest appears to be done without collecting sufficient materials justifying an arrest. The woman has also approached the court demanding that her mobile phone seized by the police should be subjected to forensic examination to retrieve evidence of her allegations.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Infopark honey trap case: IT company owner, three others booked
Kochi, The Infopark honey trap case, in which a couple was recently arrested over allegations of attempting to extort crores of rupees from the owner of an IT company, has taken a twist, with police registering a sexual harassment case against the owner based on the complaint of the accused woman. Infopark honey trap case: IT company owner, three others booked Police registered the case on Tuesday against Venu Gopalakrishnan, the owner of the IT company in Kochi's Infopark, and three others after recording the woman's statement, which took several hours and continued until midnight on Monday. Investigators said various non-bailable sections of the BNS have been invoked, including Section 74 , Section 75 , Section 79 , Section 3 and Section 351 . A section of the Information Technology Act has also been applied against the accused, they said, adding that the alleged incidents occurred between February last year and July this year. "We are yet to summon the accused. An investigation is under way and we need to verify the details of the complaint," a senior police officer told PTI. Later in the day, the complainant, while speaking to a TV channel, made serious allegations against Gopalakrishnan, her former employer. She accused him of "implicating her and her husband in the honey trap case after she warned him that she would report the harassment she had suffered at the workplace to the company's internal grievance redressal cell". Neither Gopalakrishnan nor the other accused have responded to the allegations so far. Police, last week, had arrested the woman and her husband of trying to extort ₹30 crore from Gopalakrishnan by threatening to tarnish his reputation and implicate him in a false rape case. According to police, she and her husband, Krishna Raj, had spread rumours that she had an illicit relationship with the IT company owner. They then allegedly warned they would lodge a rape complaint against him unless he paid them. A team led by Central ACP Siby Tom arrested the couple and recovered the ₹20 crore cheque leaf and agreement papers from them, police had said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
News18
6 days ago
- News18
Infopark honey trap case: IT company owner, three others booked
Kochi, Aug 5 (PTI) The Infopark honey trap case, in which a couple was recently arrested over allegations of attempting to extort crores of rupees from the owner of an IT company, has taken a twist, with police registering a sexual harassment case against the owner based on the complaint of the accused woman. Police registered the case on Tuesday against Venu Gopalakrishnan, the owner of the IT company in Kochi's Infopark, and three others after recording the woman's statement, which took several hours and continued until midnight on Monday. Investigators said various non-bailable sections of the BNS have been invoked, including Section 74 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty), Section 75 (sexual harassment), Section 79 (insult to a woman's modesty), Section 3(5) (criminal act committed by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all) and Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation). A section of the Information Technology Act has also been applied against the accused, they said, adding that the alleged incidents occurred between February last year and July this year. 'We are yet to summon the accused. An investigation is under way and we need to verify the details of the complaint," a senior police officer told PTI. Later in the day, the complainant, while speaking to a TV channel, made serious allegations against Gopalakrishnan, her former employer. She accused him of 'implicating her and her husband in the honey trap case after she warned him that she would report the harassment she had suffered at the workplace to the company's internal grievance redressal cell". Neither Gopalakrishnan nor the other accused have responded to the allegations so far. Police, last week, had arrested the woman and her husband of trying to extort Rs 30 crore from Gopalakrishnan by threatening to tarnish his reputation and implicate him in a false rape case. According to police, she and her husband, Krishna Raj, had spread rumours that she had an illicit relationship with the IT company owner. They then allegedly warned they would lodge a rape complaint against him unless he paid them. A team led by Central ACP Siby Tom arrested the couple and recovered the Rs 20 crore cheque leaf and agreement papers from them, police had said. PTI LGK KH view comments First Published: August 05, 2025, 21:00 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
