HC grants anticipatory bail to actor Kushboo

Chennai, Jan 9 (UNI) Madras High Court today granted anticipatory bail to popular filmstar Kushboo, who apprehended arrest in connection with a complaint of alleged cheating.

Justice R Raghupathy granted the anticipatory bail to Nakhat alias Kushboo on the condition that she should execute a bond for Rs 10,000 with two sureties each for like sum, and she should appear before the Inspector of Police, Central Crime Brach, Egmore daily at 1030 hrs.

While granting the anticipatory bail, the judge observed that the complaint was at enquiry stage only and it was a personal dispute between the complainant and Kushboo.

In her petition, Kushboo submitted that she was the sole accused in an unknown crime number enquired by the Central Crime Branch based upon a complaint given by one T M Varkey for alleged offences under section 406 and 420 of IPC. She was an owner of an apartment in Bangalore. Her brother Abdullah Khan was married to the complainant's daughter Dr Sherin Varkey in October 1997.

The defacto complainant was settled in the US and desired to fund the production of a Kanada film ''Janani'' being produced by his son-in-law Abdullah Khan.

Since both Varkey and Abdullah requested that the money be routed through her, she received two cheques and the sum of Rs 7.80 lakh was taken by Abdullah, from whom she has taken receipts and passed on to the complainant.

On a request from the two, she also signed an agreement of sale of her flat in Bangalore with Varkey, and handed over the same to Abdullah. Having paid the sum of Rs 7.80 lakh to her brother she forgot the entire transaction till recently, when Varkey started writing letters as if her apartment was to be registered in his name and, as if, she had received a huge amount of money abroad in the US dollars to be adjusted against the sale consideration. She has not received any such amount, she contended.

She said the film ''Janani'' was completed but could not be released due to financial constraints and moreover, the relationship between Varkey and Abdullah had deteriorated. She had in fact given Power of Attorney to her brother to raise funds for his film production.

Using this power of Attorney, the said flat at Bangalore was given as collateral security to financers. Thus she has suffered not only monetary loss but was also unneccesarily harassed now by her own family members, including the defacto complainant, she contended.

UNI