Seeman goes to rape case inquiry; presented 63 queries

Chennai: It took two hours and 40 minutes on Friday for Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) state coordinator Seeman to cover a 4km stretch from a star hotel in Vadapalaini to the Valasaravakkam police station to attend an inquiry in a rape case registered against him on a complaint from an actor.

Late at night he was let off after being questioned for nearly one and half hours and after he submitted his written response to the set of 63 questions posed.

Earlier, accompanied by his team of lawyers and surrounded by his party cadres, Seeman first sat in a car and then walked for a while before reaching the police station.

Summoned to appear at 8pm, he presented himself around 10pm before a team headed by investigation officer Anbarasan at Valasaravakkam police station.

Earlier in the day, when reporters asked him about the rape complaint, Seeman shot back asking if he had taken a girl who had just attained puberty and raped her in a desolate plate.

He repeated the statement later in the day wondering why people were questioning him as if he had raped a college girl, indicating it was a consensual relationship.

Police issued the latest summons to Seeman after Madras high court declined to quash the rape case and directed police to complete investigation and file chargesheet in three months.

"The questions we gave him are based on documents and photos provided by the complainant," said an investigation officer. She had lodged her first complaint against Seeman in 2011, but it was not probed, prompting her to withdraw it later. She lodged another complaint against Seeman in 2023.

Seeman was summoned and questioned in Sept 2023. The actor withdrew the complaint again, prompting Seeman to move the high court to quash the rape case.

Last week, Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan rejected his petition pointing out that the survivor had mentioned the stress she had been put through and the threats she had faced to withdraw her complaint.

He then ordered the Chennai police to complete the probe and file the chargesheet in three months.

Valasaravakkam police had summoned him for inquiry on Wednesday. When he expressed his inability to appear, police pasted a fresh summons on his house door in Neelankarai, asking him to appear for inquiry on Friday.

Subakaran, an employee at Seeman's house, tore up the summons, prompting police to arrest him on Thursday. Later, when an inspector of police trying to enter the premises was blocked and confronted by a security person, M Amalraj, who brandished a pistol. He was also arrested after a scuffle.

On Friday morning, counsel for Naam Tamilar Katchi mentioned the issue before a division bench of M S Ramesh and N Senthil Kumar and sought an urgent hearing, claiming that the two men had been detained illegally.

Rejecting the plea, the judges said no urgent hearing could be accorded since it was not yet 24 hours since the two had been arrested.

They added that NTK could approach the court if the arrested people were not produced before the jurisdictional magistrate concerned within the time limit.