The Kochi City Police has booked troubled actor-producer Vijay Babu in two cases, including rape, by issuing lookout circulars at all airports and searching several of his properties for evidence across the city.
Babu was initially booked for rape by the Ernakulam South police on a petition by an upcoming actor who had acted in one of the films produced by his production company and released on an OTT platform last year. The second case has been charged under IPC section 228A (disclosure of identity of victim in certain offences) when he was disclosing the name of the survivor on Facebook Live.
“Prima facie, the evidence suggests that the allegation of rape is true. For this, there is an element of fear and exploitation involved,” said CH Nagaraju, district police chief (Kochi city).
In fact, it has been pointed out that the police is convinced that the petition ticks all the boxes required to register a case for such a serious offence. In her social media statement, the victim had accused Babu of physical and sexual assault after being intoxicated with alcohol and drugs and she was afraid to report earlier because of the influence and influence of the accused.
It has emerged that the South Police had registered a case of rape last week but kept it confidential to collect evidence in view of the high-profile nature of the accused. However, Babu may have realized this and fled the country.
Given that a lookout notice has been issued against him, Babu would be caught as soon as he landed at any airport in the country. Police is also inspecting several of his properties in the city for evidence. Babu’s decision to reveal the name of the survivor seems to have made things worse for him. “We will demand exemplary punishment against him for that crime as naming a survivor is a dangerous trend and adds to his misery,” Mr Nagaraju said.
The police have already recorded the statement of the victim before the magistrate under CrPC 164 and conducted her medical examination.
The police treat Babu’s social media outburst as a self-incrimination and confirm the survivor in various cases. Babu is understood to have applied for anticipatory bail, but the police believe it may be turned down due to his indiscreet attitude to name the survivor. His social media adventure is also seen as an open challenge to the rule of law.