Kochi | A local court here on Friday denied interim bail to the man accused by a Malayalam movie actress of alleged harassment onboard a Kochi-bound flight recently.

The accused, Anto (42), who hails from Thrissur, had approached the court seeking interim bail in the case. The incident took place on Tuesday during a flight from Mumbai.

Sessions judge Honey M Varghese denied interim bail to the accused after the police informed the court that section 354 IPC (outraging the modesty of women) was also invoked in the matter.

The lawyers for the accused, who had already approached the court seeking bail, today moved for interim bail saying the police had conducted a search at his residence at Thrissur.

The court will now conduct a detailed hearing on the bail petition on October 17.

Posting on social media on Tuesday night, the actress had alleged that the fellow passenger in question was "inebriated and disruptive".

She also charged that the response from the airline's ground office and the flight crew was "disappointing." "I promptly reported the matter to the air hostess on the flight. However, the only action taken was my relocation to a middle seat three, four rows ahead. Unfortunately, no measures were implemented against the harasser," the woman had said