Tollywood heroine Nusrat Jahan had spent two days with Kadir Khan, the prime accused in the rape of a woman picked up from a Park Street nightclub on February 5 night, in Mumbai while he was on the run, police have claimed.

According to the police, Nusrat had flown from Calcutta to Mumbai on February 17 and stayed with Kadir, changing hotels once. She returned to the city on February 19, apparently unaware that cops were keeping an eye on her.

The same day, a Calcutta police team raided Kadir’s Mumbai hideout to arrest him, but he had fled by then.

On February 20, Nusrat, who had made her debut in Shatru opposite Jeet, told The Telegraph that she had broken up with Kadir five months ago after a “three-four year” relationship.

“I met Kadir only once after February 5 and he seemed absolutely normal to me…. I just can’t imagine how Kadir can rape someone.... If he is guilty, he should be punished but it hasn’t been proved yet…. I haven’t spoken to Kadir because his phone is switched off, neither do I know about his whereabouts,” she had said. On Monday, Nusrat was unavailable for comment.

Police sources said Sumit Bajaj, another accused in the case, had bought two tickets to Mumbai on a private airline from a travel agency in Dalhousie and accompanied Kadir to the Maharashtra capital on February 17. Sumit returned the same day on another airline. Nusrat travelled separately and joined Kadir in Mumbai. They changed their hotel the next day, when Sumit and two other accused, Ruman Khan and Naser Khan, were arrested in Calcutta.

The police have submitted in court documents that Kadir and Nusrat had allegedly submitted at the Mumbai hotels where they stayed. The hotel bills in their names were also submitted. A police officer said Nusrat’s and Kadir’s air tickets were also submitted in court. “The documents were attached with the case diary and not the chargesheet, as Nusrat’s presence in Mumbai was not going to affect the main case,” said a senior police officer.

“By shadowing Nusrat instead of prosecuting her for helping an absconder we got vital clues. We were able to track at least the cities Kadir was in from his communication with Nusrat before she decided to snap all ties with him,” added the officer.

Nusrat’s name is not on the list of 55 witnesses in the case.