Vijay Babu’s passport seized over sexual assault case, actor suspected to have fled
On May 19, the Ministry of External Affairs impounded the passport of actor Vijay Babu. He is accused of sexual abuse by a former colleague.
The move was taken after Kochi City Police submitted a request regarding the same to the centre. City Police Commissioner C H Nagaraju informed that since Vijay’s passport is now impounded, his visa will also stand cancelled.
WE HAVE A COURT WARRANT AGAINST HIM: CH NAGARAJU
Earlier this month, Kerala Police intensified their hunt after an arrest warrant was issued against absconding Vijay Babu in connection with a case of sexual harassment. An actress in the Malayalam film industry accused Vijay Babu of assaulting and sexually exploiting her. Now, his passport has been impounded, informed Commissioner C H Nagaraju.
“Actor Vijay Babu’s passport was impounded yesterday. All visas issued on his passport now stand invalid. There are indications that he has entered another country. We have a court warrant against him,” said CH Nagaraju, Kochi City Police Commissioner.
A RED CORNER NOTICE MAY BE FILED AGAINST VIJAY
Vijay Babu has been booked for rape after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her for movie roles. While the actor denied the allegations, currently, he is suspected to may have left for the United Arab Emirates. In case, the actor doesn’t appear in front of the passport officer by May 24, a Red Corner Notice will be issued against him.
“Vijay Babu told the passport officer that he would present himself at the office on May 24. Failure to do so will result in a Red Corner Notice against him. Till now, no response has been received from Interpol or UAE police,” informed CH Nagaraju.
A Red Corner Notice is issued by law enforcers of a country to seek the arrest or provisional arrest of wanted criminals with the intention of extraditing them to their home country to stand trial for crimes.
Following the issuance of the arrest warrant, photographs of the actor-cum-producer, Vijay Babu, along with the case details in which he is accused, will appear on the website of the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) in the coming days. Once a Red Corner Notice is issued, Dubai Police will be able to legally detain the actor and extradite him to India.
The woman, who appeared in movies produced by Vijay Babu’s production house, filed a complaint with the police on April 22 and detailed through a Facebook post the physical assault and sexual exploitation she had allegedly suffered at the hands of the producer-actor for the past one-and-a-half months.