Assault case: Vijay Babu appears before officials for second day

KOCHI: A day after actor-producer Vijay Babu was arrested and released on bail, he appeared before the probe officials on Tuesday for the second consecutive day in connection with the sexual assault case registered against him.

The Malayalam actor-producer reached the Ernakulam Town South police station this morning for his interrogation.

The police had interrogated Babu at 9 am on Monday morning too, when his arrest was recorded in connection with the sexual assault case.

The Kerala High Court had earlier granted him anticipatory bail in the case and directed the actor to cooperate with the investigation from June 27 to July 3 between 9 am and 6 pm during the course of which he would be deemed to be under custody. He was also directed to refrain from tampering with the probe and to stop interaction through or with any social or other media.

There are two cases registered against him. One is the sexual assault case and another is for disclosing the identity of the complainant through social media.

The complainant alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by Vijay Babu in a flat in Kochi. The offence was repeated by the accused more than once, she said in her complaint.

The complaint said Babu committed the offence on the pretext of offering roles in movies to the woman. Meanwhile, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) on Sunday said that any action against actor-producer Vijay Babu will be taken "as per the judgment of the court".

The actor said that he will stay away from the Executive Committee of the organization till he is proven innocent in the sexual assault case to save the association from "disgrace." Following the accusations, Vijay stepped down from the executive committee of the AMMA in May.

AMMA president Mohanlal, its general secretary Edavela Babu, and its treasurer Siddique were among those who addressed a press conference on Sunday.

"This is a matter for the court to consider. Action will be taken if necessary as per the judgment of the court. We are waiting for the verdict of the court to come. Everyone is waiting for the verdict. He is a member of eight or nine clubs in Kochi. He has not yet been expelled from those clubs. AMMA is actually a club. AMMA will act in accordance with the court order," said Edavela Babu, General Secretary of AMMA at the press conference.