#MeToo: South Indian actor Vijay Babu booked for sexual assault, responds through Facebook live

Kochi: Malayalam actor and producer Vijay Babu revealed the victim's name in a Facebook live yesterday after the Kerala Police registered a case against him for an alleged sexual assault.

Ernakulam South Police, which received the complaint on April 22, registered a case against Babu, who produced several superhits in Malayalam film industry.

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

The complainant alleged that Babu committed the offence on the pretext of offering her roles in his movies. She is a native of Kozhikode district.

Meanwhile, Babu went live on Facebook and claimed that he was the ‘true victim’. Babu repeatedly named the complainant on his Facebook Live, claiming he was scripting “a new chapter in #Metoo”.

Revealing the identity of rape and sexual assault victims is punishable under Indian law. However, Babu said he was willing to face the repercussions.

The producer said he had known the actor since 2018 and added that he was ready to go public with the screenshots of the chats he had with the actor. The actor also claimed that he would also file a defamation suit against the actress.

However, the police have not yet questioned or arrested Babu.

Babu, the founder of 'Friday Film House', a film production company, bagged the Kerala State Film Award for producing the Best Children's Film for 'Philips and The Monkey Pen'.

With inputs from ANI.