Vijay Babu, the actor and producer accused of sexual misconduct by an actor in Kochi, was detained on Monday when he appeared before Ernakulam police in charge of the case. The Kerala High Court granted him anticipatory relief on June 22. According to reports, he was given station bail but must assist the team investigating the crime.
According to sources, the team formed to investigate Babu has been approved to interrogate him from Monday through July 3 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Earlier this year, a female actor alleged the actor of sexual assault.
The victim claimed in her statement that the actor assaulted her many times in a Kochi flat. The woman claimed that Vijay sexually assaulted her under the guise of offering her movie roles. Based on the woman's complaint, which was received on April 22, the Ernakulam South Police launched a case against Vijay. Vijay allegedly left for Dubai shortly after the case was registered in his name and returned earlier this month.
Vijay was also charged with revealing the survivor's identity when he went live on his Facebook account and announced the actor's identity. Vijay is currently released on bail.
According to Onmanorama, he claimed to be the true victim and threatened to sue for slander. He also stated that he was willing to accept the penalties of revealing the complainant's identity. As per the report, Vijay stated that he will not let the complainant go away easily.
Following the charges, Vijay was requested to resign from the AMMA - The Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes - executive committee. At a press conference today, AMMA spokesman Edavela Babu stated that they will take action against Vijay Babu following the court decision.
It was previously reported in June that Vijay had been instructed to appear before the authorities when questioned. He was also reportedly told not to contact the complainant in any way or make any accusations against her or her family. He will also need to obtain permission to leave the state.