Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja on Thursday got a breather from the police clutches, as the metropolitan court here refused to extend his police custody.
However, the court remanded him to judicial custody till July 2, which he is going to appeal and seek bail in the higher court.
The police will now have to seek the court’s permission before questioning Shiney again, due to Thursday’s order.
Another development in favour of the actor was that the maid, who has complained against him of raping her on Sunday last, is not a minor and her age was found to be 20 years as per her school records and not 18 years as claimed by the police earlier.
In case of a minor, the question of consent in sexual intercourse cannot be taken as defence and the act is presumed to be rape, with or without consent.
If the victim is minor, the actor would have landed in serious trouble. However, in this case, since the victim is now shown as adult, the defence can argue on consesual sex.
The police were demanding extension of Shiney’s police custody on the ground that the actor was not cooperative in investigations which were incomplete.
Shiney was arrested on Sunday night after his housemaid complained of rape and the court had remanded him to police custody till Thursday. With the police remand coming to an end, the prosecution sought extension of his custody.
New point
The prosecution also introduced a new point by stating that the police want to investigate if the actor had consumed drugs or was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
In its remand application, the prosecution stated that the medical reports of both the accused and the complainant were not yet ready and the blood report of the accused is yet to be taken.
Shiney’s lawyer Shrikant Shivade, however, argued that the prosecution is seeking Ahuja’s custody on “speculative evidence.”
A ‘teetotaller’
The actor is a “teetotaller and does not consume drugs. His urine and blood samples have already been taken by the police and thus his custody is not required,” Shivade said.
He also asked the court to direct the police not to handcuff Shiney when being brought from the lockup to the court since he is not a terrorist or a dreaded criminal.
At this point, the magistrate asked Shiney if he had any complaint against the police to which he said “no”.
Meanwhile, the police team which had gone to Roha in Raigad district to ascertain the exact age of the complainant, returned to Mumbai with school certificates.
Girl is 20 years old
As per those certificates, her age is 20 years. The girl is a resident of Roha and is back to the village after the alleged incident.
“As per the certificates, she is 20-years-old,” Assistant Commisioner of Police Dilip Suryavanshi said.
In a related development, Kalina Forensic Laboratory Science Director M V Garad said they were conducting various tests to corroborate evidence in the alleged rape case. “We have received materials like clothes of the victim and accused from the police,” he said.
“It would take at least a week to complete all tests including DNA test,” he added.