Vijay Babu sexual assault case: Survivor allegedly offered money to withdraw complaint

Nearly a month after a case of sexual assault was filed against Malayalam actor and producer Vijay Babu, his passport has been impounded, the police said on Friday, May 20. Vijay had allegedly fled the country after the complaint became public and the police had issued a look-out notice against him. He had also gone live on Facebook, illegally revealing the name of the survivor who filed the case against him, and invited more charges from the police. He was believed to be in Dubai at the time but now there are indications that he moved to another country.

There is also another allegation that a friend of Vijay called a friend of the survivor actor with an offer of Rs 1 crore to withdraw the case. The police said that the actor informed them of the offer and that she had refused any such deal. The police said that they may raise it in court that Vijay had tried to influence the witnesses and he should be remanded.

A red-corner notice would be issued against him if he fails to appear before the investigating team before May 24, Kochi city Police Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam told reporters. "There is an indication that he has moved to another country from Dubai. We are trying to confirm it. Information on his movement will be provided to the destination country through the Indian embassy," he said.

The Commissioner said a notice was served on Vijay asking him to appear for interrogation, but he failed to give a satisfactory reply, which was why his passport was impounded by the Regional Passport Officer. The police intensified the investigation and the anticipatory bail plea of Vijay is pending in the High Court. 

In his anticipatory bail plea, Vijay said that the allegations against him were an attempt to blackmail him and that he was the real victim. The producer is also the founder of the production company Friday Film House, and the woman, who appeared in movies produced by Vijay Babu, lodged the police complaint on April 22. After Vijay put out a video revealing her name and claiming he was the “real victim”, the survivor published her account through the Facebook page Women Against Sexual Harassment where she detailed sexual abuse spanning for over a month at the hands of Vijay Babu.

Read: 'He was like a monster to me': Actor alleges Vijay Babu raped, abused her for weeks

When a few members of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (A.M.M.A.) raised the issue, Vijay Babu wrote a letter saying he will temporarily stay away from the executive committee. The members - who were part of the Internal Committee (IC) of the A.M.M.A. resigned in protest against the inaction.

Watch: A.M.M.A. member talks to TNM 

(With PTI inputs)

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