Finally, Absconding Actor-Producer Vijay Babu Lands In Kochi

KOCHI:
A day after the Kerala High Court directed the police not to arrest him till June 2, actor-producer Vijay Babu, who is accused of rape by an actress and had slipped out of the country, returned to India from Dubai on Wednesday.

At the exit gate of the Kochi airport here, the actor-producer told the waiting media that he will fully cooperate with the police.

“I have full faith in the judiciary, the truth will come out. I wish to thank my family and friends for standing by me,” Babu said and drove away.

Babu, according to sources, will first go to his family.

Later, he will have to present himself before the police, as per the interim order on his anticipatory bail plea which was heard by the High Court on Tuesday. The order said that he should not be arrested till Thursday, when the petition will be disposed off.

On Tuesday, the court was informed by Babu’s counsel that he will be arriving from Dubai on Wednesday.

Rebuking the police and the prosecution, the court said that he might be a star for others, but for the court, he is an ordinary person. The police, it added, is trying to stage a drama for the media by arresting him as soon as he arrives from Dubai.

As soon as he arrives from abroad, he should present himself before the police probe team, but should not be arrested till Thursday.

The Kerala Police has been trying its best to bring back Babu, who slipped out of the country last month to Dubai and from there – after the police began steps to issue a red corner notice – headed for Georgia and according to those in the know of things, he, will have to touch base at Dubai, before he lands in Kochi.

The actor-producer was on the run after the actress from Kozhikode filed a complaint in Ernakulam on April 22 that she was raped and beaten up by him several times in a flat in Kochi.

She has also accused him of giving her intoxicants before sexually abusing her.

As the news surfaced, Babu appeared live on his social media handle claiming that he was the “real victim” in this case, adding that he would take appropriate legal steps against the complainant whom he also named.

The police, apart from the initial complaint, have registered a second case against him for disclosing the name of the complainant.

The court will hear his petition again on Thursday.