Doctor booked in rape case suspected of sexually assaulting more women Police

    Kochi, Nov 7 (PTI) A doctor booked in a rape case, who had earlier accused Malayalam actors Athulya Chandran and Bibin Perumpally of assaulting and robbing him, is suspected to have sexually assaulted more women, police said on Saturday.

    The case was registered at the Infopark police station based on a complaint by a woman who is a relative of Chandran, officials said.

    Police said an examination of Dr Johnson Varghese's two mobile phones revealed videos and photographs of intimate moments involving several women.

    Varghese has been absconding since the rape case was registered on Friday, they said.

    Police have decided to conduct a further investigation based on the digital evidence recovered from his mobile phone.

    More cases will be registered if women appearing in the photographs and videos approach them with complaints, officials said.

    In the present case, the complainant alleged that the doctor had sexually assaulted her and recorded the incident on his mobile phone.

    According to police, the woman also alleged that Chandran and Perumpally had lured the doctor to an apartment to get the videos deleted from his phone.

    On Thursday, police arrested Chandran, Perumpally and their friend Vishnu following a complaint lodged by the doctor.

    According to the doctor's complaint, he was called to a flat at Essen Springdale Apartments in Vyttila here on November 2 on the pretext that the aunt of one of the accused was unwell.

    On reaching the flat, he found around 12 people, including the actors, present there.

    They allegedly assaulted him and stole his two mobile phones, smartwatch and earphones, collectively valued at around Rs 3.25 lakh, the FIR stated.

    The 41-year-old doctor alleged that the group accused him of drugging and raping the aunt of one of the accused and assaulted him several times.

    Chandran and Perumpally have acted in several Malayalam films.

    Meanwhile, Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate Court on Saturday dismissed the bail petitions filed by three arrested persons, including two actors.

    When bail petitions came up for consideration, the public prosecutor opposed them, saying that the investigation is in its very early stage and the arrested persons have to be interrogated in custody.

    The prosecution said that eight more people have been apprehended and that crucial evidence must be collected.

    The prosecution submitted that release of arrested persons will affect the probe.

    However, defence counsel claimed that the doctor was booked in a rape case and that false allegations were raised against the accused persons in the case.

    The Magistrate, considering that the investigation had just commenced, decided to dismiss the bail petition.

    Chandran, Perumpally, and Vishnu are likely to approach the District Sessions Court soon to seek bail, officials said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)