Neither did I assault, nor did I abscond: Vemal

Over the past few days, there were reports that actor Vemal was absconding, following an altercation with actor Abhishek at a serviced apartments in Chennai, which subsequently lead to police involvement. A complaint had been filed against the actor and three of his friends under sections 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 294b (Uttering obscene language) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

Refuting claims of being in hiding, Vemal, in a statement, clarified that a death in his family had forced him to travel to Manappaarai, and since he was busy with the arrangements for the funeral, his phone was switched off. 

The Evanukku Engayo Matcham Irukku actor also explained, in detail, his side of the issue in the statement. "Since I received the news of my uncle's death, I had to immediately rush there. At the same time, I had a friend visiting from Madurai, and I wanted to take care of his staying arrangements till we returned," said Vemal, explaining the reason for him visiting the serviced apartments in Virugambakkam, Chennai, where the altercation happened.  

Vemal said that the whole issue began when he saw someone (Abhishek) sitting at the entrance, and assuming him to be one of the employees, asked him about the whereabouts of the manager. The actor adds that Abhishek, who was actually a guest, took offence to this statement, and this lead to a war of words. 

"If he had just told us that he was a guest, it wouldn't have become this bad. He was continuously berating me, and my friends charged at him, but I intervened and stopped it. Then, I sat down next to him to try to bring peace between both parties, but he got angrier and asked me to 'Get up'," said Vemal, who added that it is human nature to get emotional, and the war of words soon lead to a physical brawl between his friends and Abhishek. However, he clarifies that it was him that tried to broker peace, and even the manager intervened and tried reaching out to Abhishek, who continued to use harsh language. 

"I believed that was his nature, and I didn't want to prolong the confrontation, and talked it out with Abhishek, and left the place after both parties settled down. Even the manager of the establishment was very aware of this," said Vemal, who adds that he reached Manappaarai and was taking care of the funeral arrangements of his uncle, which forced him to be away from his phone.  

"This was wrongly interpreted that I was absconding or I am at fault here. Even a lot of media reports suggested the same. I know I am not at fault. So, I am ready to face this issue legally, or have an out-of-court settlement," said Vemal.