Hyderabad: The legal battle surrounding actor Siddique intensifies as the state government plans to file a stay petition in the Supreme Court against his bail plea in a rape case. Siddique, who is currently absconding, faced the rejection of his anticipatory bail application by the High Court. In response, he has switched off his mobile phone and eluded police searches at his residences in Kakkanad Padam and Aluva Kuttamasery. In a similar development, actor Idavela Babu was arrested by a Special Investigation Team following allegations of molestation made by an actress.
Talking about Siddique, lookout notices have been issued to prevent him from leaving the country, and a large-scale manhunt is underway in Kochi. The case against Siddique was filed after the Hema Committee Report revelations concerning allegations from an incident that reportedly occurred in 2016. Justice CS Dias, who presided over the case, expressed prima facie evidence suggesting Siddique's involvement, leading to the rejection of his request to stay the arrest.
On the contrary, the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes's former General Secretary Edavela Babu was formally arrested on Wednesday after a round of questioning by the Special Investigation Team in a case of sexual abuse against him based on a complaint of a former actress, but released on bail. The interrogation lasted three hours, after which Babu was taken into custody. The Sessions Court granted him anticipatory bail, allowing for release post-medical examination, subject to his cooperation with the ongoing investigation.
The complaint alleges that Babu harassed the actress under the pretext of offering membership in a film organisation. Kerala Police have so far registered FIRs against 11 people, including nine from the film industry based on the complaints from actresses. The others facing cases are Mukesh, Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju, directors Ranjith, and V.K. Prakash, and production executives Vichu and Noble. While actor Baburaj and director Tulasidas have been named, no FIRs have been registered against them so far.
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