Mehraj was remanded to police custody till July 4 after he was rearrested on Tuesday night and charged with cheating a restaurant in a plush five-star hotel in Bandra of Rs 10,800 in an unpaid lunch bill.

Mehraj escaped from custody after he had lunch at the restaurant. The police are now investigating whether Mehraj was actually taken to the hotel by the policemen accompanying him or whether he had coaxed them into joining him for a five-star lunch.

After escaping, Mehraj headed straight to the office of a television news channel, where he gave an interview. On learning of his whereabouts, police rearrested him.

On Wednesday, Mehraj told the court that a policeman with the Hyderabad police had allegedly abused him and also tortured him with a view to getting money from his former wife Manyata. Mehraj claimed to have escaped from custody as he feared for his life.