Malayalam rapper Vedan interrogated in rape case

Malayalam rapper Hirandas Murali, known by his stage name Vedan, appeared before the Thrikkakara police on Tuesday in connection with the probe into a sexual assault case registered against him. Vedan turned up at the police station by 10 a.m. and left the premises after a five-hour-long interrogation. The interrogation will continue on Wednesday too, the police said.

The singer was granted anticipatory bail in the case by the Kerala High Court in August end.

Ahead of entering the police station, Vedan told media that he would co-operate fully with the investigation. He refused to comment further on the case which is subjudice. “Let the case end. Then I will say my side of the story,” he told reporters while leaving the station.

Vedan was booked by the Thrikkakara police based on a complaint filed by a woman doctor from Kozhikode who has accused him of raping her multiple times between 2021 and 2023 on the pretext of a false marriage promise. While granting him anticipatory bail, the High Court had observed that his custodial interrogation was not needed, although the charges against him were of serious nature.

The Ernakulam Central police have also registered a case against Vedan based on a complaint by a woman music researcher. In that case, he has been slapped with Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with the offence of using assault or criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty, according to the police.