A woman who accused the owner of a Kochi-based software company of sexual harassment has approached the Kerala High Court, seeking transfer of the investigation from the Kochi City Police to the Crime Branch.
In her writ petition, the woman alleged that the ongoing probe by the local police was “biased, perfunctory, and hostile”, with a clear intent to shield the accused, Venu Gopalakrishnan (50), who owns the IT firm. Gopalakrishnan had earlier attracted public attention for paying ₹45.99 lakh to secure a special registration number for his Lamborghini Urus.
The case dates back to July 2025, when the petitioner and her husband were arrested by police on charges of attempting to honey-trap Gopalakrishnan. She was employed at his IT firm in Kochi at the time. After securing bail, the woman claimed she was falsely implicated and later lodged a fresh complaint against Gopalakrishnan.
Following this, a new FIR was registered last month against Gopalakrishnan and three of his employees — Jacob Thampy, Eby Paul, and Bimalraj Haridas — on charges of sexual harassment, outraging the modesty of a woman, and criminal intimidation.
On September 11, the Kerala High Court dismissed Gopalakrishnan’s anticipatory bail plea. While doing so, the court flagged serious lapses in the police investigation, including:
- Omissions in the FIR,
- Unexplained delays in recording the victim’s statement, and
- Detention of her electronic devices for over a week without a seizure mahazar.
The petitioner has now requested the High Court to transfer the two pending cases registered at Ernakulam Central and Infopark police stations to the Crime Branch for a fair, consolidated, and time-bound investigation.
The Kerala High Court is scheduled to consider the petition on October 4.
