Cuttack: The Orissa High Court today granted interim protection to playback singer Sourin Bhatt till August 25 in a harassment case.

The court also asked him to cooperate with the investigators in the probe and appear at the Mahila police station, where a case has been registered in this connection.

The singer had earlier moved the High Court seeking anticipatory bail claiming that the allegations levelled against him were baseless and it was done intentionally.

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 on the promise of marrying her and 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 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.