Malayalam actor who has filed a police complaint against actor-producer Vijay Babu for alleged rape, sexual and physical abuse has shared her statement on a Facebook page, Women Against Sexual Harassment. The statement came out a day after Babu dismissed all allegations against him and also named the complainant in a Facebook Live, in contravention of the law. He called himself ‘the real victim’ in the case. The police said the actor alleged in a complaint with the Kochi police on April 22 that Babu had sexually abused her several times promising roles in his films. She alleged that Babu had raped her at his flat in Kochi. In her statement, she said that she was physically and sexually assaulted between March and April this year. She said that he gained her trust by advising about her career as she was a newcomer, but used it to exploit her. “I have known him for few years in the industry and had worked together with him for a movie. Through this time, he gained my trust by being friendly and advising me as I was a newcomer in the film industry with no proper guidance. He behaved like my saviour for my personal and professional problems but under the guise has sexually exploited me,” she wrote. She also said that she was afraid to speak against him due to his clout in the industry. “Each time I tried to run away from this trauma, he would come after me with false promises of marriage. There are also several witnesses to the trauma he has put me through. Every time we met, he used to offer me characters in his upcoming films. But that wasn’t my intention. I was under his control and was scared to speak up because of the clout, influence and power he wielded in the film industry,” the statement read. The woman also said that there are other victims who have been subjected to such abuse by Vijay. The allegations come at a time when the Malayalam film industry is dealing with many such cases. Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) has been demanding setting up of an internal complaints committee (ICC) every time a producer engages more than 10 workers. She also said that she was done with fear, calling Vijay a ‘monster’. “I am not keeping my mouth shut anymore. I can’t take this pain anymore. I strongly believe I will get justice for the sexual and physical assaults I have gone through by Vijay Babu. No one should go through this pain and trauma anymore in their life. I ask all the women who had this experience from him and are silenced to speak up,” she said. She added that she will take legal action against those who indulge in victim shaming or personally attacking her on social media. The Women in Cinema Collective has slammed Malayalam actor-producer Vijay Babu for revealing the identity of the complainant. “Yet another shocking allegation of sexual harassment and violence in the Malayalam film industry is now public. While committees come and go, more such incidents continue to happen. WCC reiterates that crimes are being perpetrated here under the guise of professional equations and professional space,” the WCC said in a Facebook post. The collective also claimed that the actor’s Facebook Live was akin to mockery of justice system. “An accused's public shaming of a complainant is deplorable and punishable by law. Flaunting his presence online with such an act without turning himself into the judicial process seems to be an attempt to mock the judicial system,” the WCC said. Meanwhile, Babu, who is the founder of film production company Friday Film House and has six productions to his credit, has claimed that he has proof against the woman. “I would file a defamation case against the complainant. Let it be the beginning of a new ‘Me Too’. Let us start a new fight,’’ he said on Facebook.
