Kerala police on Friday, August 23 registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Govind Vijay (30), a YouTuber who goes by the stage name VJ Machan, for the alleged sexual abuse of a minor girl who he met via Instagram. The minor filed a complaint with the Kalamassey police on August 23 and the police arrested him on the same day. According to reports, he was nabbed from his house in Mannar in Alappuzha district.

Govind reportedly met the 16-year-old through social media and took the girl to a resort in May, where the alleged harassment occurred. His YouTube channel, VJ MACHAN, has 1,29,000 subscribers, and he has around 1,06,000 followers on Instagram. 

Govind is known for making misogynistic statements through his vlogs. In a recent interview, he made derogatory remarks about women, implying that women are “obsessed” with sex nowadays and that no “pure love” exists. “Girls are ready to go to OYO rooms within a week of initiating a romantic relationship. Some girls are ready to go on the same day when they commit to someone. It is girls who are more insistent on this compared to boys,” he said. 

One of the most frequent formats he used on his channel was filming women walking in and out of restaurants or nightclubs, without their consent, and airing the footage with sexist commentary implying that they are of ‘sexually promiscuous character’. He would also propose to women in public places, asking them if they would go for a bike ride with him, and make video content from it under the garb of ‘pranking’ them.

He has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and according to the Kalamassery police, a charge of abduction has also been registered against him. Police produced him before the court on August 23 and he was remanded in judicial custody.