Rakhi Sawant

Actress Rakhi Sawant was on Thursday granted bail by a Ludhiana court in a case related to alleged "objectionable" remarks made by her against Valmiki, the author of the epic Ramayana. Judicial Magistrate Vishav Gupta granted bail to Sawant after she surrendered.

On June two, the court while issuing a non-bailable warrant against her had asked the police commissioner of Ludhiana to ensure that she was produced before the court on July 7. To escape public attention, Sawant appeared in the court wearing a burkha, a day ahead of the expiry of the warrant against her. The court granted her bail on two bonds of Rs one lakh each. She later left for Mumbai.

The actress had tendered "an unconditional apology" to the Valmiki community after its members voiced outrage over her alleged remarks. A local advocate, Narinder Adiya, had filed a complaint against Sawant on July 9 last year, claiming her comments - allegedly made on a private television channel- had hurt the
sentiments of the Valmiki community.

The Judicial Magistrate's court had issued an arrest warrant against her on March 9. Under instructions from the court, a two-member team of Ludhiana police had left for Mumbai with the arrest warrant in April, but returned empty handed.