Malayalam producer-actor Vijay Babu accused of sexual misconduct by another woman

Just a few days after a female actor filed a rape complaint against Malayalam actor-turned-producer Vijay Babu, another woman from the entertainment industry alleged that the actor tried to 'kiss' her forcibly. The allegation was raised by the woman on Facebook page Women Against Sexual Harassment on Friday. This comes after the police registered the rape case against the actor, after which Babu has gone into hiding. 

2nd woman accuses Vijay Babu of sexual misconduct

Taking to the Facebook page, the woman wrote, "This was a one-day incident. I met Vijay Babu, Actor cum producer, owner of Friday film house in the month of November 2021. We met for a work-related thing. We discussed some professional things and later personal issues came up. He realised that I needed help and offered to help me. One other friend, who was there with us, stepped outside the room, so now only we both were there."

"He was drinking alcohol and offered it to me as well. I refused and continued working. Suddenly he just leaned to kiss me on my lips, without any question, without any consent. Luckily, my reflex action was super quick and I just pulled myself backwards and maintained a distance from him. I looked into his face, and he then asked me ‘Just one kiss?’. I stood up and said no. He started apologizing from then and requested me to not tell anyone. I agreed as I was scared. I immediately got out of the room casually for some silly reason," she added. 

"Even though he didn’t further force me to do anything, the thing which he did was cheap and scary. I had to discontinue my work because of this. I just stopped taking efforts to enter the Malayalam film industry after this, which was a dream for me until then. I realised that we just barely known each other for 20-30 minutes, within this time frame he made his first movement. I wondered how many women would have faced a much worse experience."

"I decided to bring up this after reading the recent incident which happened to an actress. I understand through what all she had gone through. When some group of people is speaking against her I was not able to keep quiet, as I know, he is someone who would do this. He is someone who tries to utilize vulnerable women offering help," she stated. 

The woman also added that she was recalling the incident in order to "raise her voice for the rape survivor." Extending her support to the first accuser, the woman said, "She deserves justice. Also, by removing or punishing people like him, the myths about the film industry–‘not safe for women’ should be proved wrong for women like me to not be scared to step in."

This development comes days after Babu went into hiding. On Thursday, the Kochi police issued a search warrant for the actor, who also faces a case on the charge of revealing his first accuser's name during a live session on Facebook. The second allegation also comes when Babu moved the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail.