Harassment slur: Playback singer Sourin Bhatt moves Orissa HC, files anticipatory bail plea

Cuttack: Playback singer Sourin Bhatt today filed an anticipatory bail petition with Orissa High Court in Cuttack in connection with harassment charge levelled by a woman from the city.

Sourin has not yet appeared before a probe team at Mahila police station and was in New Delhi.

A team of Commissionerate Police officials, who went to Kolkata on June 21 morning to contact Sourin Bhatt at his residence and carry out a probe into the alleged harassment, returned Odisha empty-handed the next morning as there was no trace of the playback singer.

According to a police source, it was known after reaching Kolkata that Sourin was in New Delhi.

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Family of Sourin is quite aware of the fact that he was on good terms with the complainant in Cuttack. The family had assured the probe team that they will inform the playback singer to contact Odisha Police on his return to Kolkata from New Delhi.

However, the family had alleged against the woman of blackmailing Sourin.

Statement of the victim woman, who is a bank employee, was previously recorded by the Magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC. The woman had lodged an FIR in this regard at Jagatpur police station and the case was later referred to Mahila PS in the city.

As per the FIR, Sourin had been harassing the woman both physically and mentally after promising of marrying the woman and after giving her a break in singing.

Sourin had taken Rs 10 lakh from her. He and the woman were in a love relationship for the past several years. Subsequently, Sourin allegedly turned out to be a trickster and deceived the woman.

Acting on the FIR, Mahila police had registered a case (No-78/2023) in this connection under Sections 294, 323, 341, 376, 417, 493 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.

A medical examination of the complainant woman was done on June 14 at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Police had tried to contact Sourin, but to no avail, as his mobile phones were in ‘switched off’ mode.