#MeToo: Raghu Dixit accused of misbehaving with female singer

Agencies
October 10, 2018

Chennai, Oct 10: The #MeToo movement has hit the Tamil cinema industry with a number of women including noted singer Chinmayi Sripaada Wednesday levelling allegations against veteran lyricist Vairamuthu.

Sripaada, who has crooned a number of songs including for Oscar winner AR Rahman, alleged inappropriate conduct by the poet against her during a foreign tour sometime in 2005 or 2006.

Vairamuthu, who had recently courted controversy for his reported remarks against Vaishnavite saint Andal, said he was being "repeatedly insulted" in the recent past and the #MeToo allegations were one among them.

"The indecency of defaming known persons is becoming a fashion across the country. Of late, I have been repeatedly insulted and this is one of those. I ignore anything that is far from truth. Time will tell the truth," he wrote on Twitter.

The allegations against Vairamuthu, a celebrated National award-winning lyricist, have surfaced following Sripaada and a journalist sharing allegations of inappropriate conduct by him on Twitter.

Most of the women who had made the accusations have either remained anonymous or their identities have been withheld by the two.

Sripaada herself claimed inappropriate conduct towards her by Vairamuthu, even as she shared experiences of other women, some of whom narrated incidents that allegedly happened when they were in their late teens.

Sripaada, in a reply to Vairamuthu's statement, simply wrote: "Liar."

While major stars from the South film industry have stayed away from commenting on #MeToo movement actor Siddharth and Prakash Raj have backed the campaign.

"Multiple women are speaking out against Kavignar #Vairamuthu. Without judging anyone, they must be heard. When somebody of @Chinmayi's stature who has so much to lose, stands by the accusers, that's huge! There will be investigation. First step #ListenToTheAccuser #MeToo #Timesup," Siddharth tweeted.

Actor Prakash Raj said, "#MeToo...this is an EPIDEMIC in all walks of life....to be DONE WITH in our SOCIETY...more power to you WOMAN ... YOU CAN DO IT..come out and give it back.....continue #justasking."

Raghu Dixit, the frontman for the Raghu Dixit Project, a multilingual folk music band, is the latest to be accused of sexual harassment by an anonymous singer, whose account was shared by Sripaada on Twitter.

Dixit could not be reached for a comment despite attempts.

On Tuesday, Malayalam actor-turned-MLA Mukesh was accused by a casting director from Bollywood who claimed to be harassed by him in 1999 during shooting of a television show. He has denied the allegations.

Following Hollywood's #MeToo movement, which has seen several women there speaking out about sexual harassment faced by them, many people are referring to Tanushree Dutta's statement on Bollywood actor Nana Patekar as the beginning of a similar campaign in Hindi cinema.

Following her allegations, women across various spheres, including journalists, have taken to the social media, narrating their ordeal.

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News Network
November 22,2025

Mangaluru: Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H has warned of strict action against individuals spreading rumours and attempting to create insecurity within the Muslim community and fuel hatred between Hindus and Muslims through social media.

Referring to a recent social media post alleging that police personnel had entered a masjid premises to check whether beef was being cooked, the commissioner said miscreants were attempting to push their communal agenda. 

“A group of people, both from Mangaluru and abroad, are trying hard to spread rumours. For the past 10 days, they have been attempting to rake up old issues, highlight routine matters as controversies, or fabricate news altogether,” he said.

He reiterated that any such attempts to disturb communal harmony would invite legal action. “Cases will be registered and the accused will be brought to book,” he stated.

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
November 24,2025

israelsyra.jpg

Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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