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The Kerala High Court, on Wednesday, August 27, granted anticipatory bail to rapper Hirandas Murali, popularly known by his stage name Vedan, in a young doctor’s case of alleged rape under the pretext of marriage.
According to a Live Law report, the complainant appeared before the court and opposed the bail, alleging that there are other similar complaints against Vedan. However, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, who was hearing the case, observed that new complaints by other women are not under consideration in the present case.
The complainant also alleged that she met Vedan on social media, and he promised to marry her, after which they engaged in a physical relationship. However, Vedan had said that they were in a consensual relationship and claimed that she filed the complaint after they had some differences of opinion.
Earlier, the court had restrained the police from arresting Vedan until the hearing was complete.
Vedan was booked for rape by the Thrikkakkara police in Kozhikode, on July 31, based on a complaint filed by a woman, who alleged that he raped her in 2021 and sexually assaulted her multiple times between August 2021 and March 2023, under the pretext of marriage.
He has been absconding ever since the complaint was filed, and the police issued a lookout notice to stop him from leaving the country.
Meanwhile, two more women have sent complaints of sexual assault against Vedan to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. One woman said that they met over a shared interest in music and that she was drawn by the Dalit politics in Vedan’s music. The other complainant came in contact with Vedan when she began working on a paper on Dalit music. Both women wrote in their emails that they had come out with #MeToo statements against Vedan in 2021.
Further, a second FIR was registered against Vedan, based on the complaint of the researcher.
In April this year, the rapper was arrested with seven others for possession of ganja. Later, the Forest Department also booked him for the alleged possession of a suspected leopard tooth pendant.