Bail granted to man accused of sending rape threats to daughter of cricketer

Court said merely because it concerns a respectable cricketer, bail cannot be rejected

A magistrate court has recently granted bail to a man accused of sending rape threats to a minor on social media and said, “Merely because the matter is connected with some respectable Indian Cricket Team member, bail cannot be rejected."

The case was filed at Cyber Police Station, West division under sections 354-A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 500 (punishment for defamation) and 506 (punishment for criminal initimidation) of the Indian Penal Code along with sections of the Information Technology Act. It is alleged that the accused through his social media accounts used language causing threats to assault a minor girl by publishing or transmitting material depicting a child.

He was remanded to police custody and now magisterial custody on November 16. He seeks bail on the grounds the social media posts cannot be considered in isolation. The prosecutor opposed the bail mainly on the grounds that he is from Hyderabad and is an expert in concealing his identity and may not turn up to face trial.