File photo of police officer Sunil Paraskar
Maharashtra IPS officer Sunil Paraskar, accused of raping a model, has been granted anticipatory bail.
The officer has been accused by a 26-year-old Mumbai model of rape and molestation.
He was questioned for four hours by the Mumbai Police's Crime Branch last month.
In what is a major relief for Mr. Paraskar, the court has ruled that custodial interrogation is not necessary for investigation in this case.
Speaking to reporters after the court order, Mr. Paraskar said, "I had faith in the judiciary. In my thirty years of service, no charges have been brought against me. I know the victim and met her as a friend."
The prosecution had argued that this was a case of passive submission because the accused was a senior police officer in charge of the area where the crime took place.
The defence said that the conduct of the complainant shows that there was a healthy relationship between them and that she was not depressed or traumatised by the alleged crime.
In her FIR, the model had accused the senior police officer of molesting her at a flat in Navi Mumbai.
Mr Paraskar told investigators that the woman wanted to rent a flat, so he had taken her to the Navi Mumbai flat, which belonged to his daughter.
The model had also accused the police officer of raping her at a bungalow in Madh Island, Malad in December 2013, where, she claims, he had taken her on the pretext of showing her a site for a photo-shoot.
Speaking to NDTV, the model had said, "They are trying to assassinate my character publically. Sunil Paraskar was blackmailing me in another case. I could do something only after he was transferred out of the area."
During questioning, the officer admitted that he had accompanied her to the bungalow but denied raping her.