Kochi: Advocate Dhanesh Mathew Manjooran, who was arrested on charges of molesting a 42-year-old woman on a city road when she was returning home after work on July 14, 2016, has joined the BJP in Kerala.
The Kerala Congress (M) leader and the former Kerala Government pleader received the party membership from BJP State President K. Surendran at a function held in connection with the 25th anniversary of the murder of Yuvamorcha leader K. T. Jayakrishnan.
"Manjooran allegedly attempted to molest the 42-year-old woman when she was returning home on the evening of July 14. He was allegedly caught by the locals after the woman raised an alarm. The accused intentionally grabbed the private parts of the woman," sources quoting the case report based on the woman's complaint said.
In November 2020, KC (M) leader Manjooran's candidature to the Kochi corporation election was also opposed by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) citing the sexual harassment case against him. However, the Kerala Congress (M), one of the constituents of the Left Front, decided to field him from the Ponekkara ward of the Kochi Corporation.
Earlier, responding to the molestation charges, Manjooran had alleged that the case was a fabricated one and that he was innocent of the crime. Meanwhile, the media persons, who reported the molestation case, were attacked by a section of lawyers in the High Court in 2016.
Protesting against the attack on journalists, the Kerala Union of Working Journalists organised a march towards the High Court. Later, it became a statewide issue, and tension spread across Kerala when irate lawyers tried to vent their ire on media persons.
