Offence against rapper Vedan in tiger tooth case will not stand prima facie, says court

KOCHI: The court has ruled that the offence imposed against rapper Vedan in the tiger tooth case will not stand prima facie. The Perumbavoor Judicial First-Class Magistrate Court made this clear in the bail order granted to Vedan. It has not yet been scientifically proven whether the tiger tooth is genuine. The court also observed that Vedan was not involved in a similar crime.

Vedan was granted bail yesterday in the case of possession of a tiger tooth gifted by a fan. The bail conditions said that he should cooperate with the investigation, should not leave Kerala, should submit his passport to the court and appear at the station on Thursdays.

Vedan was produced in the court at 4 pm yesterday after completing the evidence collection in Thrissur. The hearing on his bail plea lasted for about an hour. The tiger tooth was gifted to him. If he had known that it was genuine, he would not have used it. The rapper’s lawyer argued that poaching act does not exist. However, the court reminded that ignorance of the law is not an excuse. He was also asked if he had been involved in any crimes before and he said no. The court later granted him bail at 5:30 pm.

Meantime, the court order has dealt a heavy blow to the forest department. The forest department clarified that it had identified the tiger tooth as genuine at first glance and that the offence would not exist against him. The forest department argued that there were grounds to impose severe sections against him. The forest department had opposed his bail, arguing that he would leave the country and destroy evidence.