Cuttack, Dec. 16: Orissa High Court today granted anticipatory bail to actor Dushmant Panda.
Dushmant was in hiding and had to skip his wedding reception after model Priti Mohanty, 24, filed a complaint that the actor had ditched her.
Dushmant, who married actress Kajal Mishra recently, had filed an application for anticipatory bail after a case was registered against him at the Mahila police station in Bhubaneswar on the basis of Priti’s complaint.
His parents, too, have secured anticipatory bail from the high court.
Priti had staged a protest at Kajal’s marriage reception party demanding the actor’s arrest. She had filed a petition in the family court in Bhubaneswar on November 29. On December 7, the family court accepted her petition along with an interim application seeking an order not to recognise the marriage of Dushmant and Kajal.
The high court granted anticipatory bail to Dushmant on Friday despite Priti’s petition opposing the anticipatory bail application on the ground that there is a chance he might tamper with evidence.
Cancellation of bail petition was also sought. The high court, however, rejected her plea. Applications for anticipatory bail were also filed by Dushmant’s father Krushna Chandra Panda and mother Sabita Panda.
Priti told The Telegraph that Dushmant was guilty and that was why he had to hide from police and ask for anticipatory bail.
“I am aware that the court granted him and his family members anticipatory bail. I will file another petition in the high court on Monday because I feel the sections under which the accused has been booked are not in keeping with my complaint,” said Priti.
The case against the actor was registered under sections 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage), 341 (wrongful restraint), cheating (417), 294 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several person) of the Indian Penal Code.
“The single-judge bench of Justice Sanju Panda allowed the anticipatory bail applications today and directed all three applicants to surrender in the court of sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM), Bhubaneswar, to get regular bail,” the actor’s counsel Sandip Parida told The Telegraph.
The court directed Dushmant to deposit Rs 10,000 as security in the case he seeks regular bail from the high court. However, the court left it to the SDJM to fix other terms and conditions for bail to the actor and his parents, Parida said.
