Man accused of molesting Dangal teen actor aboard Vistara flight out on Rs 25,000 bail

The man accused of molesting a Bollywood teen actor during a two-hour flight is now out on Rs 25,000 bail set by the Sessions Court at Dindoshi.

Mumbai Sessions Court at Dindoshi has sent the man accused of molesting a Bollywood teen actor to judicial custody till December 22.

The accused Vikas Sachdeva, a senior executive in an entertainment firm, was arrested from his house after an FIR was registered by the minor actor.

The victim had alleged that during a two-hour flight from Delhi to Mumbai, Vikas who was sitting behind her in the business class had his feet on her armrest and was feeling her neck and back.

The actor had clicked a picture of his feet and had narrated the entire incident on a social networking application.

After an uproar on social media, the police got in touch with the actor and an FIR was registered on Sunday. The 39-year-old accused was arrested the same night.

Vikas told the court that he had no complaints to make against the police.

Public prosecutor in the case said that a minimum custody of seven days was needed as the police was still in the process of recording statements of other passengers.

The investigating officer of the case said that a statement of Vikas under section 164 of criminal procedure code was to be recorded before the magistrate.

Advocate HS Anand, Vikas's lawyer, asked that if there were 63 passengers in the aircraft then would they record the evidence of all of them while he was in police custody? He told the court that Vikas had been to a funeral that day and needed to sleep while travelling.

He had even requested this to the flight attendant which is recorded by the police and also reflects in a statement of a co-passenger.

"He asked for a blanket and had gone off to sleep. A sleeping person is as good as a dead body. So where is the question of having an intention to molest? The height of the seats are such that he did not even see her so how can there be a sexual intent?", HS Anand said.

Vikas's lawyer went on to argue that the minor actor's mother was sitting right next to her and when they got off the airplane, the staff had asked them if they wanted to register a case.

"They said no. The actor is using her celebrity status and is being given a privileged treatment as the police went to her hotel to register the case. The case was registered 10 hours later and is clearly an afterthought," said Anand.

Anand also argued that with all the allegations and arrest, it is Vikas whose reputation has been hurt and he does not know about the future of his job.

After hearing both the sides, the sessions court sent Vikas to judicial custody. His lawyer immediately moved a bail application which has now been approved for Rs 25,000.