Following the request of the Kerala police, the external affairs ministry has impounded the passport of Malayalam actor and producer Vijay Babu, and his visa also stands cancelled after he slipped out of the country to escape sexual assault charges against him, officials said on Friday.
On April 22, a female actor filed a complaint at a local police station alleging that she was raped and beaten by Babu in a flat, in Kochi. Police registered a second case against Babu after he disclosed the complainant’s name on a Facebook live.
According to the Kerala police, Babu had been hiding in the United Arab Emirates for almost a month but left a couple of days ago to move to where India does not have an extradition pact. Police suspect that he may have fled to Georgia.
“After his passport was cancelled, we pressed for his extradition, and anticipating trouble, he slipped out of the UAE a couple of days back,” Kochi Police Commissioner Nagaraju Chakkilam said, adding that they will approach the Interpol to issue a red corner notice against him.
The victim, a newcomer who made her debut in his film, filed a complaint accusing Babu of sexually abusing her several times by promising good roles and forcing her to take narcotics. The actor also alleged that Babu, the founder of the production company Friday Film House, threatened to release her intimate photos and videos if she made a complaint.
Kochi police soon booked Babu under sections 376 (sexual assault), 323 (causing hurt), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Later, another case under IPC Section 228A was booked against him for revealing the identity of the complainant.
In a live Facebook session, Babu denied charges and threatened to file a defamation case against the complainant. He also claimed he was in Dubai for some work and not absconding.
In the Facebook chat, he said that he knew the complainant since 2018 and gave her a chance to act in one of his films, adding that they were not in touch for over a year, and she was upset with not getting roles in other films.
Babu, 45, produced seven films and acted in eight movies over a decade. His film ‘Sufiyum Sujathayum’ was the first Malayalam film to be released on an OTT platform in 2020.
