Cosmetic surgeon Dr Viral Desai said on Friday that he had been dating the TV actress who has filed a rape case against him at the Santacruz police station. The actress had filed the police complaint on August 12 alleging that the doctor had raped and assaulted her on August 9 when she had visited his Santacruz clinic for treatment. Desai's clinic, in a press note issued on Friday, said that the 40-year-old actress, "is going through a troubled marriage and is fighting a divorce case in the family court which is still pending".

The press note also details the content of his anticipatory bail application to the court. Dr Desai has contended, in the bail application, that the two had a consensual relationship while vehemently denying rape charges. He further claimed that it was a "relationship gone sour" and "she was trying to extort huge amounts of money from him in return for not filing this false complaint," the press note alleged.