Hyderabad: Choreographer Jani Master, arrested on charges of raping a woman colleague, was granted interim bail by a Rangareddy court on Thursday to attend the National Film Awards function, scheduled to be held on October 8.

Jani had filed the bail application saying he was scheduled to receive the national award for best choreography, and sought permission to go to Delhi to receive it. The court allowed him to be enlarged on bail from Oct 6 to Oct 10, and directed him to subsequently surrender before the court.

In Aug, ministry of information and broadcas ting announced Jani as the winner in the category of best choreographer for Tamil film ‘Thiruchitrambalam’.

Jani was arrested on Sept 20 after a 21-year-old choreographer lodged a police complaint alleging that he had raped her on multiple occasions since 2019. The survivor, who worked as an assistant to Jani, alleged she was sexually exploited by him when she was a minor. Police then also booked the accused choreographer under Pocso Act.

Jani went absconding after the case was filed. He was traced in Goa and brought to Hyderabad. Later, he was produced before a court, which remanded him in judicial custody.