Renowned senior television journalist and news anchor Venu Balakrishnan has been dismissed from his position at Malayalam news channel Mathrubhumi News following allegations of sexual harassment by a woman colleague. The anchor, who was the host of the channel’s prime time debate show Super Prime Time, had allegedly sent inappropriate messages to the woman colleague on multiple occasions.

In an interview with The News Minutes, Mathrubhumi Group Managing Director and Rajya Sabha MP Shreyams Kumar confirmed that Venu has been 'discharged from his duties' following allegations of misconduct. “He has been discharged from duties. The company has zero tolerance towards this,” Shreyams Kumar told TNM. Reportedly, the woman is yet to officially file a written complaint with the management. However, the Mathrubhumi News management had suspended Venu as part of an inquiry and took suo motu action against Venu Balakrishnan