Shiney asks for bail, again

Actor Shiney Ahuja, now on trial for allegedly raping his maid, has sought bail from the Bombay High Court, claiming he is not a rapist.

Actor Shiney Ahuja, now on trial for allegedly raping his maid, has sought bail from the Bombay High Court, claiming he is not a rapist.

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His counsel Shirish Gupte argued: “I am not saying he is a saint, but he not a rapist either”. Ahuja’s (32) two earlier bail applications have been rejected by the sessions court.

“Court shall not decline bail to accused in cases where the alleged offence is not punishable with death or life sentence,” Gupte argued, citing an earlier Supreme Court judgment.

Ahuja’s application says the medical and DNA reports do not support the rape charge. It also says the victim’s complaint differs from her statement recorded before the magistrate, in which she has not once used the word “rape”.

“She has repeatedly used the word ‘atyachar’, which means atrocity,” argued Gupte. The medical evidence indicates she had sexual intercourse, but it was not necessarily forceful, argued Gupte, adding that the small abrasions on Ahuja’s left wrist and the base of his little finger do not prove rape.

Gupte added the maid was habituated to sexual intercourse and that she had a history of physical relations with other men. “It appears to be a cock and bull story,” he told the court.

Gupte said the maid had called Ahuja’s home number from her cellphone 10 times in the intervening night of June 13-14.

“Police have not investigated these calls and the fact that she spoke to her boyfriend immediately after the alleged incident,” Gupte argued.

He said Ahuja was a small-time actor and that many do not even know his name: “He is not influential enough to tamper with evidence or witnesses. The victim has gone back to Raigad, her hometown. Ahuja doesn’t know where she lives.”