Actor Maala Parvathy on Monday resigned from the internal complaints committee (ICC) of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), in protest against the organisation's refusal to take any action against actor-producer Vijay Babu who has been charged with rape by a young actor.
Speaking to the media, Parvathy said the ICC had recommended action against Vijay Babu but its statement issued on Sunday does not sound like a disciplinary action. “AMMA's statement does not look like disciplinary action and as an ICC member, I cannot accept it. Hence, I have given my resignation from ICC," she told the media. She said other ICC members like Shwetha Menon and Cuckoo Parameshwaran, would also hand over their resignations.
AMMA vice-president Maniyanpillai Raju on Monday maintained that the organisation can't expel actor Vijay Babu over the sexual assault complaint against him. He said Maala Parvathi was free to take any decision she wants. However, all the other ICC members are with AMMA, he claimed.
He claimed that the committee members, including Shwetha Menon, had agreed to Vijay Babu's decision to stay away from AMMA. They were also willing to follow the procedures taken by AMMA. As per procedure, the accused will receive a letter from the organisation. After hearing the accused's explanation, the person is expected to sit through three hearings only after which any action will be initiated.
The AMMA had on Sunday in a release said the actor had given a letter to the organisation saying he wants to stay away from the executive committee in light of the allegations against him as he did not want the incident to bring discredit to the organisation.
"The committee has discussed the letter given by Vijay Babu and accepted his demand," AMMA had said.
The female actor, who appeared in movies produced by Vijay Babu's production house, filed a complaint with the police on April 22 and detailed through a Facebook after the physical assault and sexual exploitation she had allegedly suffered at the hands of the producer-actor for the past one-and-a-half months.
Babu, who is untraceable since the police launched the probe, appeared in a Facebook live session on Tuesday last and claimed innocence, saying he is the "real victim."
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 filed against him.
Babu, on Friday, moved the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail in the actress rape case.
Meanwhile, another woman had raised a fresh allegation against him on Friday through a social media page. However, police have not yet registered a case in this regard as there was no official complaint.
(With inputs from PTI)
