Former AIADMK Minister granted conditional bail in actress rape case

Chennai: The Madras High Court today granted conditional bail to former AIADMK Minister M.Manikandan in connection with a case relating to raping an actress after promising to marry her.

Justice M.Nirmal Kumar granted the bail on the condition that the former Information Technology Minister should sign at the All Women Police Station daily for two weeks and also surrender his passport at the Saidapet Magistrate Court.

The Judge also said the police had already subjected the accused to custodial interrogation after his arrest and that a co-accused in the case had been already granted anticipatory bail.

The judge also took into consideration the fact that the accused was a general surgeon and a fellow of the Indian Association of Gastrointestinal Endosurgeons. The court observed that even as per the complainant’s version, she had been living with the accused since 2017, on being reportedly promised marriage after he had divorced his wife, and that she had chosen to lodge the complaint only now when cracks began to develop in their relationship.

Manikandan was arrested in June by a special team from a house in Bengaluru following complaints from the actress for impregnating her and forceful abortion. Manikandan had a live-in relationship with the woman and was charged with miscarriage and criminally intimidating her.

The woman lodged a complaint against Manikandan, accusing him of cheating her following which the Adyar All Women Police registered cases against him under various Secs of the IPC, including 376 (rape), 313 (causing miscarriage without woman’s consent), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 417 (punishment for cheating), 506(1) (criminal intimidation) and under the IT Act. Soon after the police registered cases against him, Manikandan went missing

and two special teams, formed to nab him, arrested him from a house at Bengaluru.(UNI)