Star Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Yash Dayal’s anticipatory bail plea has been rejected by Jaipur’s POCSO court in an alleged rape case, according to a report in NDTV. As per Judge Alka Bansal of the Jaipur Metropolitan Court, the available evidence doesn’t indicate that Dayal has been falsely implicated.
The ongoing investigation points to the pacer’s possible involvement and therefore, anticipatory bail cannot be granted at this stage.
An FIR has been filed at Sanganer Sadar police station in Jaipur, in which the minor complainant alleges that Dayal lured her with promises of advancing her cricket career, blackmailed her and assaulted her over two-and-a-half years, including at hotels in Jaipur and Kanpur.
Police are treating chats, pictures and videos from the girl’s mobile, along with call records and hotel stay details, as key evidence under POCSO provisions.
Dayal’s lawyer, Kunal Jaiman, contended that the former only met the girl in public settings, never alone and that she presented herself as an adult, accepted money from him, citing financial difficulties and later demanded more.
The defence also claimed that a related case in Ghaziabad is part of the same alleged extortion conspiracy. Despite these arguments, the Jaipur court denied Dayal anticipatory bail.
In his petition, the pacer maintained that the allegations against him are false and fabricated to harass and extort money. Dayal described himself as a respectable individual devoted to cricket, claiming he was being framed by a group of women.
Dayal also assured the court of his full cooperation with the investigation and requested that his plea be considered.
Representing the victim, government lawyer Rachna Maan stated that the accused established physical relations by luring the minor with false promises of advancing her cricket career.
Maan emphasised that any consent given by a minor has no legal validity under the law.