Panaji, Dec 8 (IANS) John Fernandes, a local politician accused of raping a 25-year-old Russian woman, was granted anticipatory bail by a Goa court Tuesday.
District and Sessions judge U.V. Bakre, while granting conditional bail, asked the accused to hand over his clothes and the girl’s underwear, which was reportedly left in the car after the incident.

The accused John was not present in court at the time of the hearing. The police were also directed by the court to release the accused on a bail amount of Rs.30,000 in case he was arrested. The police have not been able to track down John, ever since the rape case was booked against him.

The Russian woman, who works as a Russian liaison executive at a five star resort in South Goa, had said in her complaint that the accused had raped her in his car, after she was rendered helpless by a spiked drink on the night of Dec 1.

The woman has also claimed that the police had first harassed her at the time of filing the rape complaint and had then asked her to water down her complaint from rape to molestation, by threatening her with cancellation of her visa.

The victim has already complained to the Russian consulate in Mumbai about the harassment by the police at the time of registering the complaint.

John is a high-profile politician from south Goa and had unsuccessfully contested the 2007 Goa legislative assembly polls on a ticket of ‘Save Goa Front’ political outfit, floated by Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao.