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A day after the Kerala high court protected him from arrest till June 2, Malayalam movie producer and actor Vijay Babu, accused in a rape case, arrived here on Wednesday morning and appeared before the police for questioning.
Visuals aired on news channels showed Babu being questioned by police officials.
While granting him interim protection from arrest till June 2, the high court had directed him to immediately appear before the Investigating Officer (IO) of the case and had permitted the police to interrogate or question him.
Terming his return to India an outcome of the police efforts, Kochi City Police Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam told reporters that Babu would be interrogated on Wednesday and on Thursday, his version will be heard and thereafter, a decision would be taken.
The senior officer said the actor-producer had initially 'escaped' from India and thereafter, police escalated the steps to bring him back by first impounding his passport and then issuing a look out notice against him.
He said that, according to the assessment of the police, steps taken by it to ensure he is unable to travel anywhere else abroad led to him returning to India.
He also said that police wanted justice for the complainant and it was making all possible efforts to ensure the same.
The Kochi City Police Commissioner also said they were also investigating who all harboured and helped the accused.
On his arrival at Cochin International Airport in the morning, Babu told media that he has full confidence in the judiciary and that he will fully cooperate with the police in its investigation into the case.
He also expressed his thanks to his family, friends and others who stood by him and supported him amidst the allegations against him.
The high court on Tuesday had asked the police and the immigration department not to arrest Babu when he arrives in Kochi.
In his plea, Babu has alleged that the rape case has been filed against him to blackmail him.
He has been accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a female actor and disclosing the victim's identity through a Facebook live session.
He has claimed that he was innocent and was 'highly aggrieved' by the one-sided approach of the authorities to make him a 'scapegoat for the purpose of news and the media'.
As the producer, who is also the founder of the production company Friday Film House, disclosed the survivor's name and identity, which is an offence, another case was also slapped on him.
The woman, who appeared in movies produced by Vijay Babu's production house, lodged 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-half months.