Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko flees police raid, manhunt on
What's the story
Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko reportedly escaped the police during a raid at a luxury hotel in Kochi on Wednesday night.
The police were tipped off about Chacko's alleged drug use and raided the hotel. However, Chacko slipped away in a filmy style: from a window on the third floor, he jumped to the second, and fled via the staircase sometime close to midnight.
This came after a female actor accused him of misconduct under the influence of drugs.
Ongoing search
Chacko is accused of misbehaving with female co-star
Following Chacko's dramatic escape, both police and excise officials have launched a manhunt for the actor. But despite their attempts, he continues to remain elusive.
Earlier this week, Malayalam actor Vincy Aloshious revealed that Chacko was the co-actor she had accused of mistreating her on a film set.
Aloshious hadn't taken his name initially, but had to acknowledge it after the name was made public.
Official action
More about Aloshious's complaint
Aloshious had revealed that the incident happened during the shooting of the film Soothravakyam.
She said, "Now that I have given the complaint to the film authorities, it's their job to follow it up. I am not raising this against the particular film shooting set, but the actor."
Things took a turn when Chacko's name came out.
Controversy
'Since organization official has made it public, I'll not cooperate'
Aloshious clarified she had specifically written to the Film Chamber that under no circumstances the actor's name should be made public.
"Now that that organization official has made it public, I will not cooperate with them," she added.
Meanwhile, the Film authorities, including AMMA (the body of Malayalam actors), have decided to take this matter seriously.
It was Saji Nandiyattu, Chamber's general secretary, who revealed Chacko's name.
Ongoing issues
Chacko was recently named by a drug peddler, too
Notably, this latest controversy comes at a time when Chacko has been implicated by a drug peddler as her client.
Responding to this incident, the excise department announced it will take action against Chacko and another actor, Srinath Bhasi. The details of these allegations remain unclear.
Chacko is known for popular movies such as Beast, Dasara, and Kumari.