Mumbai, May 9 (IANS): Television actor and singer Karan Oberoi, arrested on charges of raping and blackmailing a woman, has been sent to 14 days judicial custody by a Magistrate Court here.
He was nabbed on May 6 after the victim, an astrologer, registered a complaint with the police on Sunday accusing him of rape and blackmail on the pretext of marriage.
Karan was remanded to police custody till Wednesday and was produced before the court on Thursday afternoon.
His lawyer Dinesh Tiwari told IANS that he would apply for Karan's bail on Friday at a Sessions Court.
According to the FIR lodged by the victim, the accused allegedly raped her on the pretext of marriage, filmed the act and tried to extort money from her under the threat of making the video public.
The 34-year-old victim said that she had met the accused through a dating app in 2016. A year later, Karan offered her spiked coconut water before sexually assaulting her.
Karan has been a model, singer and actor since over 25 years now and has acted in several television serials, including "Swabhimaan", "Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin" and "Saaya". He was also one of the vocalists of A Band of Boys, an Indipop boy band.
However, Karan's friends and colleagues have defended him.
Actress Pooja Bedi felt that Karan will be the "poster boy" of a #MenToo movement against such fake cases.
"#MeToo was a great movement and #MenToo will also be defining because when a fake case is filed, it not only affects the man but the woman as well. So it is high time that when we are talking about equality in this country, there should be equality for both men and women.
"I see the movement growing from strength to strength when all men who are subjected to such fake cases come out and talk. If we are pro-women, it does not mean that we have to be anti-men," Bedi explained.
Sudhanshu Pandey, a former member of A Band of Boys, also stood up for the accused, saying he did not believe in the allegations levelled against Karan as he was "the most chivalrous" among their five-member team. He said he fully believed in the law and was sure that Karan will be out on bail soon.