KOCHI: Making a dramatic U-turn in a two-year-old rape case, the survivor has submitted that sex with the accused was consensual and she does not want to pursue the case as she is now married to another man. Based on a complaint filed by the woman, the police had registered a case against Saifudheen, 28, of Ernakulam. Though the case was first registered at the Perumbavoor police station on May 7, 2019, it was later transferred to the Fort Kochi station under the limits of which the incident related to the case had happened.
The twist came to light when the accused moved a local court seeking anticipatory bail. The police submitted a report in the court on October 28 stating the complainant had approached the High Court to quash the proceedings in the case as she has been leading a family life after marrying another person. She also submitted that the sexual relationship she had with the accused was consensual, the police said. The court granted anticipatory bail to the accused.
A police officer told TNIE that their probe had revealed in the initial stage itself that there was something fishy in the case. “The accused and the victim were known to each other and were in a relationship,” the officer said.
The woman had complained that the accused raped her on the night of December 21, 2018, after taking her to a serviced apartment in Fort Kochi. The probe found that the complainant and the accused were collegemates, and the accused had taken her to the apartment after they met at Aluva for a common friend’s wedding. The accused had also submitted that they were lovers. Though they decided to live together after a wedding with the consent of their parents, the plan did not materialise due to the interference of relatives.