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Kerala HC grants bail to rape accused actor-producer Vijay Babu
The court heard the plea in detail for almost two weeks, and also examined WhatsApp and other chats between the actor and the victim
The Kerala high court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to actor-producer Vijay Babu who is accused of raping a newcomer Malayalam actor on the pretext of ‘good roles’, and forcing her to take narcotic substances.
Justice Bechu Kurain Thomas granted him bail under strict conditions. If the arrest takes place during interrogation, Babu can be released on bail after furnishing a bond of ₹5 lakh. The court said if he tried to interact with the victim or witnesses, his bail will be cancelled immediately and he should appear before the investigating team for interrogation for the next seven days between 9am and 7pm.
The court heard the plea in detail for almost two weeks, and also examined WhatsApp and other chats between the actor and the victim. Babu insisted that physical relations between the two were consensual and she raised rape charges when she was denied prominent roles in his films.
Soon after, the female actor filed a complaint on April 22 and Babu slipped out of the country. He was later forced to return after the police issued a blue corner notice and cancelled his passport.
Babu then appeared in a live video on social media, and even revealed the name of the survivor. He faces two cases now – rape and revealing the identity of the victim.
The police booked him under sections 376 (sexual assault), 323 (causing hurt), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Another case was slapped later for revealing the identity of the complainant under Section 228A of the IPC.
Later, in a live Facebook session, Babu denied the charges and claimed that he was in Dubai for “some work” and not absconding. He added that he knew the complainant since 2018 and gave her a chance to act in one of his films, and that they were not in touch for over a year. He accused her of being upset for not getting meaty roles in other projects. He also claimed that physical relations with her were consensual.
