Kerala: Prominent Malayalam film industry actor and former General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), Edavela Babu, was arrested by Kerala police on Wednesday following allegations of sexual assault. However, he was released on bail shortly after, as he had already secured anticipatory bail from a district court in Ernakulam.
Babu’s arrest came a day after actor and politician M. Mukesh was similarly arrested on comparable charges, though he was also released due to prior bail arrangements.
According to reports, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) took Edavela Babu into custody after three hours of questioning at the Coastal Police Headquarters in Kochi. He was later taken to Ernakulam General Hospital for a medical examination.
These allegations surfaced following the release of the Hema Committee Report, after actress Meenu Munir exposed several instances of physical and verbal harassment within the Malayalam film industry.
In a Facebook post, Meenu Munir named seven individuals, including Edavela Babu, M. Mukesh, actor Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju, and others. She claimed that Babu had demanded sexual favors in exchange for AMMA membership.
