Malayalam actor Edavela Babu was arrested by Kerala Police on Wednesday in a sexual assault case in the wake of Hema Committee report. However, the actor was later released on bail soon since he had secured anticipatory bail from a district court in Ernakulam earlier this month.

The development comes after a woman actor had filed a complaint against Babu for allegedly sexually assaulting her. She had also filed similar complaints against other actors such as Mukesh, Jayasurya and Maniyanpilla Raju, among others.

Kollam MLA M Mukesh was arrested on Tuesday and released on bail.

Babu has been booked under IPC sections 354 (sexual assault), 376 (rape) and 509 (acts, words, or gestures that intend to insult a woman’s modesty) over a complaint filed by a Kochi-based female actor.

According to the complainant, the incident occurred at Babu’s flat in Kaloor, where she had gone to fill out a form for AMMA membership.

Babu was arrested after three hours of interrogation at the Coastal Police headquarters in Kochi by the SIT led by Coastal AIG G. Poonkuzhal. The actor was later taken to the Ernakulam General Hospital for a medical examination.

He had served as the general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) for several years. Babu resigned from the post in June of this year.

The allegations of rape against Babu and other prominent figures in the Malayalam film industry surfaced in the wake of the release of the Hema Committee report on the working conditions of women in the industry.

Notable actors such as actor-legislator M Mukesh and Siddique were implicated in these allegations following the report’s publication last month.

The Justice Hema Committee, established by the state government in 2017, presented its report in 2019. However, legal obstacles delayed the public release of the report until recently.

Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday asserted that no stone pelter or terrorist will be released in Jammu and Kashmir and there will be no talks with Pakistan till terrorism is wiped out.

At an election rally in Nowshera in support of J-K BJP president Ravinder Raina, the Home Minister said he would like to talk to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, whom he referred to as lions.

Shah alleged that allies National Conference and Congress want to release stone pelters and terrorists after forming their government as promised in their manifesto.

“Farooq Abdullah is talking about the revival of terrorism in Jammu hills but I want to tell them that this is Modi government and we will bury terrorism in patal’ (deep inside earth). No terrorist or stone pelter will be released,” he said.

Shah further accused the allies that NC and Congress are batting for talks with Pakistan.

“I want to tell Farooq Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi that there will be no dialogue with Pakistan till terrorism is wiped out. I will talk with my lions (youth of J-K) and not with Pakistan,” Shah said.

Referring to underground bunkers constructed by the government for the safety of border residents over the years, he said there would be no need for such structures as nobody has the power to open fire from across the border.

“If they fire a bullet, we will respond with a shell,” he said.

He also slammed the NC-Congress leaders’ remarks on the reservation and said nobody would be allowed to touch reservations given to deprived sections, including Paharis, Gujjars, Dalits, and other backward classes.

“Rahul Gandhi is saying in America that there is no need for reservation. I want to tell him that you will not be allowed to finish reservations for the deserving communities,” he said.

Anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal has said the complaint of the Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra alleging impropriety and conflict of interest by the SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch falls short of persuading it to order any probe, asking the complainant to verify the authenticity of the claims in the recent report of Hindenburg Research.

The anti-corruption body, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice AM Khanwilkar, stated that the Lokpal cannot solely act based on the Hindenburg Research report. The report raised allegations of quid pro quo against SEBI Chief Buch, citing her investments in offshore funds linked to the Adani group of companies.

While deciding on two complaints filed by different individuals based on a report by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, it asked both the complainants to file affidavits mentioning details of the efforts made by them to verify the authenticity and credibility of the claims in the recent report of Hindenburg Research published on 10.08.2024.

The Lokpal requested the details of the allegations against the individual that could constitute corruption within the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, according to its public order dated September 20, to prevent misinterpretation and politicization of the issue.

Hindenburg Research’s report claimed that Buch and her husband were involved in offshore funds related to an alleged Adani scandal, which both parties refuted, considering it an attack on the regulator’s credibility.

In response to a complaint lodged by a Lok Sabha MP, the Lokpal found insufficient grounds to initiate a preliminary inquiry under Section 20 of the Lokpal Act of 2013.

“This direction is only a procedural order, issued for testing the question of tenability of the concerned complaint and to record a prima facie view as required under Section 20 of the Act of 2013, in the peculiar fact situation,” reads the order issued by Lokpal chairperson Justice A M Khanwilkar and three other members — Justices L Narayana Swamy, Ritu Raj Awasthi, and Sushil Chandra.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra filed a complaint on September 13 and proposed that the matter be referred to the Enforcement Directorate or the Central Bureau of Investigation for a full inquiry.

Concerning the complaint and its subsequent investigation, the Lokpal highlighted the importance of protecting the identities involved and ensuring a fair inquiry process.

The Lokpal in its order, without mentioning the name of the complainant, said the communication filed in its office is dated September 11, 2024, whose entire copy “was contemporaneously placed in public domain (in media) despite the mandate of Rule 4 of the Lokpal (Complaint) Rules, 2020-guaranteeing protection of identity not only to the complainant but also to the public servant complained against till the conclusion of the inquiry or investigation.”

The complainant hastily submitted the complaint on the same day they came across the Hindenburg Research report without adequate verification, prompting the Lokpal to stress the need for credible evidence before lodging complaints.

The Lokpal emphasised the requirement for a thorough articulation of corruption allegations, following a strict procedural approach to assess the validity of the complaint.

The cases were scheduled for further review by the Lokpal on October 17, 2024, to delve deeper into the allegations and the necessity for a detailed investigation, PTI reported.