The Dindoshi sessions court has rejected the anticipatory bail of an event management professional for stalking, extortion and recording explicit videos of an aspiring actress and making them viral on social media. Principal judge VV Patil rejected the pre-arrest bail of Timothy Fernandes booked by the Amboli police for stalking and extortion.
The actress had lodged a complaint with the Mumbai police last month alleging that Fernandes exploited her and took advantage of her trust to record private videos and later shared them online to defame her. She further alleged that the videos were forwarded to her relatives to pressure her into a relationship with him.
In her complaint, she said that she came to Mumbai to pursue a career in films and television and Fernandes offered to be her manager to get work and promote her on social media. He gained her trust and obtained access to her social media accounts and created fake accounts in her name.
She has alleged that Fernandes extorted ₹17.74 lakh in cash from her and also took ₹5.1 lakh in online transactions to not defame her. However, he still circulated the explicit videos and made several calls to her mother stating that she was involved in sexual escort services.
Intervening for the victim, advocate Aditya Pratap had opposed the bail. Pratap relied on WhatsApp and Instagram messages and other evidence to point out that a strong prima facie case had been made out against the accused.
Fernandes had filed an anticipatory bail application fearing arrest, counter-alleging that the actress took ₹20 lakh from him on the false pretext of starting an imitation jewellery business in Dehradun and later lodged a false case so she wouldn’t have to pay back.
The police opposed the anticipatory bail and contended that the photographs and video clips were yet to be recovered and a fair opportunity should be given to the police to carry out an investigation and collect evidence.
