Malayalam movie producer and actor Vijay Babu, accused in a rape case, on Tuesday, May 24, submitted air tickets before the Kerala High Court indicating his return to India on May 30. The tickets were submitted in court a day after it said that his plea for anticipatory bail would be considered only after he produces travel documents indicating his return to the country.
However, Babu's lawyers told the court that he would be returning on May 30. The court, thereafter, said it will hear his bail plea on Wednesday. His lawyers also told the court that all the other documents would be submitted before it on Wednesday. Babu, in his plea, has alleged that the rape case has been filed against him to blackmail him.
He has been accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a female actor and disclosing the survivor woman’s identity through a Facebook live session, in clear violation of the law. The producer-actor also claimed in his plea that he was innocent and was "highly aggrieved" by the one-sided approach of the authorities to make him a "scapegoat for the purpose of news and the media."
Babu, who is absconding since the police charged him with rape following the woman's complaint, appeared in a Facebook live session and claimed innocence, saying he is the real victim. As the producer, who is also the founder of the production company Friday Film House, disclosed the survivor's name and identity, which is an offence, another case was also slapped on him.
The woman had lodged a complaint with the police on April 22 and detailed through a Facebook post, the physical assault and sexual exploitation she had allegedly faced from the producer-actor.