Kochi | Actor Lakshmi Menon, known for her work in Tamil and Malayalam films, and three others are accused of "abducting and assaulting" an IT professional in Ernakulam following an argument at a bar, police said.

Menon moved the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail and was granted protection from arrest on Wednesday, while the other three accused were arrested and remanded to judicial custody on Tuesday, police added.

Ernakulam North police said the incident occurred on the night of August 24, when the actor and her friends allegedly blocked the victim’s vehicle near the railway bridge, "verbally abused" him, and "forcibly pushed" him into their car.

The victim was reportedly assaulted inside the vehicle and released early on Monday.

A case has been registered against the four persons under sections 3(5) (common intention), 140(2) (kidnapping or abduction), 126 (wrongful restraint), 296 (obscene acts and songs), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.