After Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu was accused of abusing and sexually assaulting a woman actor, he has approached the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail in the case against him. In his petition submitted on Friday, April 29, Vijay Babu alleged that the woman aims to “blackmail the petitioner (Vijay Babu) by simply filing the complaint alleging that the petitioner forcefully sexually assaulted her.”
A few days ago, the woman actor had filed a complaint with the police, who booked a case against Vijay Babu in Ernakulam. Soon after, he was absconding. However, on April 26, he broke the law by revealing the actor’s name during a Facebook Live video. A lookout notice has been issued by the police against Vijay Babu, who is charged under sections 376 (sexual assault), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The woman actor alleged sexual assault at the hands of Vijay Babu, accusing him of raping her multiple times in the past month after compelling her to be intoxicated. A Facebook page named Women Against Sexual Harassment carried the survivor’s statement on the morning on Wednesday, April 27.
In a recent development, however, the same page carried a statement from another woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by Vijay Babu. On the condition of anonymity, the woman said that she had approached him to collaborate for a project in November 2021. However, about 20 minutes into discussing the project, Vijay Babu allegedly leaned in to kiss her without her consent.
In his petition to the High Court, the actor-producer alleged that the woman used to use his connections for roles in Malayalam films and that her allegations are “completely false”. In her statement, the woman had alleged that Vijay had raped her and abused her physically and emotionally for about a month.
Meanwhile, when Vijay Babu started the livestream after the police complaint was filed, he claimed that he was the victim in the situation. "I respect the law of the land but here I am the victim and my name has come out. So why shouldn't the other party's name come out too," he said. Going further, he also said that "let this be a break to Me Too", referring to the video in which he illegally disclosed the woman’s identity. MeToo is the movement that enabled many women to come out and speak about the various abuses they have been through at the hands of powerful men.
According to police sources, the alleged rape happened in the month of April and the woman had been subjected to a medical test. A few years ago actor and co-producer Sandra Thomas had filed a case of assault against Vijay Babu, which was later withdrawn. That time too, he had come on a Facebook live and proclaimed his innocence.