Singer Ankit Tiwari sent to judicial custody till May 26

Zee Media Bureau/Ritika Handoo New Delhi: Playback singer Ankit Tiwari, who is facing rape charges levelled against him by his girlfriend, has been remanded to judicial custody till May 26. The `Aashiqui 2` singer has been accused of allegedly raping his female friend on several occasions on the pretext of marriage. Although the 24-year-old singer has refuted the claims made by the victim, a case has been registered against him at the Versova police station, Mumbai. The singer has been booked under IPC sections 376 (rape), 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage), and 506(2) (criminal intimidation) while his brother Ankur Tiwari was charged with criminal intimidation. Nagesh Mishra, the lawyer from Ankit`s side has however denied the charges saying they were completely fabricated and filed to extort money from Ankit. "Why was the victim silent all this while? When she learnt that Ankit has become successful in his career, she came to us to demand money. But when we flatly refused to pay, she filed a false complaint against my clients," he said. With Agency Inputs