Mumbai court grants bail to Kerala CPI (M) leader’s son charged with rape

A Mumbai court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Kerala CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s son Binoy Kodiyeri, who is an accused in a rape case filed by a former bar dancer under strict conditions.

The Sessions court in Dindoshi directed him to appear before the investigating officer on every Monday and asked him to pay a security deposit of Rs 25,000. The court also said if the police seek a DNA test to prove paternity he will have to co-operate with them. By no means should he try to influence either witnesses or complainant, it observed.

She had filed a complaint against him at Oshiwara police station on June 13. Binoy was later booked for rape under Section 376 and breach of trust and cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).However, Binoy denied the allegations and said that it was a blackmailing tactic. But he admitted he knew the woman when he worked in Dubai.

In her complaint, the 32-year-old woman said Binoy had been sexually exploiting her for years and that she has a nine-year-old son out of this relationship. The former employee of a dance bar in Dubai said despite his relation with her he went on to marry another woman in Kerala. She said he repeatedly lied and promised that he would marry her and his mother was aware of the relationship.

She insisted her charges were true and challenged Binoy to go through a DNA test to determine the paternity of her son. To add more credence to her charges, the woman had released a copy of the birth certificate of her son in which it was stated that Binoy is the father of the son. The birth of the son was registered in Mumbai Municipal Corporation in 2010.

After the case was registered a Mumbai police team visited Kerala two weeks ago but Binoy who was in Kannur had given them the slip. Later, they issued a lookout notice against him and he moved an anticipatory bail plea in Mumbai.

Licking its wounds after a humiliating defeat (out of 20 it managed only a single seat) the latest controversy came at a bad time for the ruling CPI (M). Though Balakrishnan had expressed his desire to quit the party, the central leadership asked him to remain but directed him not to extend any help to his son.