Kerala High Court to consider his anticipatory bail plea today
Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu appeared before the police to face interrogation for the second consecutive day in the sexual assault case registered against him.
He appeared at Ernakulam south police station.
Earlier on Wednesday, the police questioned him for nine hours. His anticipatory bail plea will be considered by the Kerala High Court today.
Babu, who has been granted interim pre-arrest bail in a sexual assault case, arrived in Kerala’s Kochi from Dubai on Wednesday.
“I was told the court that I will appear today. I have full faith in the honourable court. I will fully cooperate with the police. The truth will come out. Thanks to all the family and friends who stood with me,” the actor told mediapersons.
While hearing the matter on Tuesday, the single-judge bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas noted, “If I refuse to grant him interim bail now, he will remain abroad and elusive. How many people have been elusive in our country? Several agencies have been trying, but have they been successful? This is what I’m trying to avoid here.”
The bench said the accused has been granted two days of interim bail with protection so that he could return to India.
“I want to see if the accused has any bonafide. I’ll grant him a maximum of two days of interim bail with protection. Let him come down to the jurisdiction of this Court. After that, if I dismiss this, you can nab him. You don’t have to go to CBI or Interpol,” he added.
There are two cases registered against him, for sexual assault and another for disclosing the identity of the complainant through social media.
The complainant alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Vijay Babu in a flat in Kochi. The offence was repeated by the accused more than once, she said in the complaint.
She added Babu committed the offence on the pretext of offering roles in movies.
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Following the accusations, Babu stepped down from the executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) in May.
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’.