The Perumbavoor First Class Judicial Magistrate Court granted bail for rapper Hirandas Murali, popularly known as Vedan, on Wednesday in connection with a case involving the possession of a leopard tooth pendant. The court granted bail under strict conditions.

Forest Department officials arrested and questioned Vedan on Tuesday for possessing a pendant made of a suspected leopard tooth. They said that the pendant had been submitted for further forensic examination. 

Vedan claimed that the pendant had been gifted to him by a fan. He was charged under sections of the Wildlife Protection Act related to hunting and the unlawful possession of wildlife articles.

The rapper was initially arrested in a separate case involving ganja possession, after police seized 6 grams of the substance from a rented apartment at Kaniyampuzha near Vyttila. Vedan and eight others, reportedly part of his band—including artists and technicians—were taken into custody during the narcotics raid.

Following his release on bail in the ganja case, the Forest Department took Vedan into custody.

A native of Thrissur, Vedan is known for his music that addresses subaltern issues. The arrest comes shortly after the high-profile detention of Malayalam filmmakers Khalid Rahman, Ashraf Hamsa, and their friend Shalif Mohammed by Excise officials, who allegedly seized hybrid ganja from a flat in Kochi.