New Delhi: Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted pre-arrest bail to Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu in the case where an actress accused him raping her. The court has granted bail subject to the condition of limited custody to investigating officer.
The court has directed actor Vijay to surrender before the investigating officer on Monday (June 27) at 9 AM for interrogation, according to Livelaw.
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A debutant Malayalam actress whose first appearance on screen was with Vijay Babu Registered a rape case in the last week of April accusing him of sexually assaulting her several times. In her complaint, she also said that Vijay has forced her to take drugs. Hours after the case was filed, Vijay revealed the name of the actress on social media and claimed that he was the real victim. The police then filed another case against the actor-producer for revealing the complainant's name on social media.
Babu reportedly fled the country fearing arrest after the police filed a case. He returned to Kochi only after the court granted him protection from arrest. But the court had earlier rejected bail plea in the second case for revealing the actress' identity on social media, said an Indian Express report.
In the earlier rounds of interrogation, Vijay claimed that the actor has turned against him after she couldn't fetch any role in the films. He also said that he only had consensual relationship with the actress.