Harassment charges: Naval officer`s bail plea on April 16

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has adjourned to April 16 the anticipatory bail plea of Lt Ravi Kiran, whose wife has filed a police complaint alleging harassment and cruelty by him.

The Naval officer had stated in his petition yesterday that the charges against him by his wife were baseless. He said she had filed the complaint against him after he moved a family court seeking divorce. He claimed that he was not involved in any criminal case so far and said his wife was a "mentally ill person". The Navy had already started an internal probe based on the complaint she submitted to the Navy Chief recently. The matter came to light after the woman filed a complaint with local Harbour Police, which registered a case against 10 people, including her husband, under Section 498 of the IPC (Enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman) on April 4. The woman in her complaint stated that she was "tortured" for dowry and seniors and colleagues of her husband had attempted to molest her. Police said the charges of torture related to dowry issues were against her husband and his close relatives. She had also told media that she had been allegedly harassed by her husband, his senior officers and their wives. She said Kerala police began a probe on the very first day she lodged the complaint, but she was under pressure to withdraw it. The Navy had denied her charges and said the complaint was the result of "a marital discord" and the allegations raised by the woman against "superior officers" were "unfair." It said the officers, accompanied by their respective spouses, had only tried to unsuccessfully resolve the issues of the couple`s personal life. PTI