India-born actor charged with attempted murder

The 43 year-old actor, being held in lieu of US $2 million bail at a detention centre, has been booked on suspicion of attempted murder, mayhem and burglary in connection with an attack that San Diego authorities said left his ex-girlfriend in critical condition with 20 stab wounds. His arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday.

Authorities said there was no immediate motive for the attack. But County Sherrif spokesman Phil Brust said in a statement: “Malil and the victim had apparently been in a dating relationship which recently ended.”

Police were summoned to a house in San Marcos area after neighbours reported hearing glass breaking and a woman screaming for help.

Authorities confirmed the victim’s identity as Kendra Beebe. According to reports, she is a 35-year-old mother of two, who works as an insurance broker in Carlsbad, a coastal suburb and is reported to be in critical condition with stab wounds and cuts on her face. Malil’s attorney was not immediately available for comment, the report said.

Malil, who was born in Kerala in 1964 and migrated to the US at the age of 10, played Haziz, one of star Steve Carell’s co-workers at an electronics retail store in the The 40-Year-Old-Virgin. He also has appeared in TV shows NYPD Blue and Scrubs.