KOCHI: The high court has granted anticipatory bail to Saiju AV, who is accused of raping a woman dentist while he was the station house officer of Malayinkeezhu police station after she approached the police to evict a person from the shop she owned.
Justice Gopinath P granted anticipatory bail to the 46-year-old officer from Puravoorkonam near Karakulam in Thiruvananthpuram after considering a bail plea filed through senior advocate P Vijayabhanu.
While granting pre-arrest bail, the court also directed the state police chief to nominate a senior police officer to supervise the investigation in the case.
The woman had alleged that Saiju had kept in touch with her after the complaint regarding eviction and had raped her when she invited him over for dinner in October 2019. He had engaged in sexual relationship with her on several occasions by promising to marry her after divorcing his wife, the complaint said.
Senior advocate Vijayabhanu had argued that even if the allegations are true, they reveal only a consensual relationship and not rape.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
