KOCHI: The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) has decided to remove actor-producer Vijay Babu, who has been accused of raping a young actor, temporarily from its executive committee as per his request.
Vijay Babu had submitted a letter requesting to remove him temporarily from the body as he did not want to malign the image of the association over the rape allegation levelled against him. He has sought to stay away from the executive committee until his innocence is proved.
The executive meeting held in Kochi on Sunday decided to consider his request, said AMMA general secretary Edavela Babu. Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) had questioned the silence of the Malayalam film industry over rape case against Vijay Babu.
Meanwhile, the Kochi city police issued a notice via e-mail to the rape accused, directing him to appear before the investigation team. A summons was issued earlier. In addition to this, a notice was served through e-mail following the reports that the accused had fled to Dubai after the incident.
The police are also checking if he has really fled the country after they received information that Vijay was in Tamil Nadu. However, the officials have not responded about the current location of the accused.