Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu, accused in a case of sexual assault, will stay away from the executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (A.M.M.A.). He has offered to stay away until he is proved innocent of the charges against him, A.M.M.A. said in a press release, and they have accepted his decision.
"Since he does not wish to harm the reputation of the executive committee of which he is a member, because of the allegations against him, he has written to us that he is staying away till he is proved innocent. His letter has been discussed and accepted by the committee," says the press release. A young woman actor filed a police complaint of sexual assault against Vijay Babu a few days ago, after which he appeared live on his Facebook page, refuting the charges and naming the survivor, which is against the law. The police have filed another case for doing so, under section 228(a) of the Indian Penal Code, which bars anyone from naming a survivor of sexual assault.
Vijay Babu has been absconding since the case popped up and the police have issued a look out notice. Latest reports suggest that he is in Dubai and the police may attempt to impound his passport. In his Facebook Live video which has since been removed, Vijay Babu admitted that he knew it was against the law to name the complainant but he was doing it anyway, claiming that in this case he was the "victim".
Later, another woman also spoke out about alleged sexual harassment at the hands of Vijay, when she had approached him in 2021 in the hopes of making a film.
Vijay Babu who was in the media before, switched to films in 2013, founding the production house Friday Film House with Sandra Thomas. Later the partners split, and Sandra filed a case of assault against him, accusing him of hitting her. The case was later withdrawn.