Chinmayanand Case: Law Student Arrested in Extortion Case, Sent to Judicial Remand
Image courtesy: Hindustan Times
Lucknow/Shahjahanpur: The special investigation team (SIT) formed to probe the Swami Chinmayanand case on Wednesday (September 25) morning arrested the law student who had levelled allegations of sexual misconduct. The SIT, which was formed on the orders of Supreme Court, has allegedly arrested her in connection with the extortion case of Rs 5 crore from Swami Chinmayanand.
The SIT has, as per the records accessed by NewsClick, booked the victim of sexual misconduct under sections 385, 506, 201 and also under one of the sections of the Scheduled Case/ Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The victim has been sent to Shahjahanpur jail after a local court granted the SIT with 14 days judicial remand.
Earlier on Tuesday, September 24, the SIT had also arrested two of the victim’s friends, Sachin and Vikram for their alleged involvement in the extortion case. It may also be mentioned that three other friends of the victim were booked for questioning by the SIT on the day Swami Chinmayanand was arrested.
According to SIT chief Naveen Arora, the other accused in the extortion case have confessed to their involvement but the law student has denied her involvement in the extortion case.
Confirming the arrest, the victim's father in a telephonic conversation told NewsClick that the SIT came to their home in the morning and dragged her out of the house. She had refused to go with them for the medical examination which is done before the arrest.
Also read: Law Student Accuses Chinmayanand of Raping Her for Over a Year, Claims She Has Evidence
“The arrest made by SIT is a contempt of court, as the next date of hearing fixed by the local court in the anticipatory bail yesterday is on September 26,” the victim’s father said. He alleged that all this is being done deliberately by the SIT to dilute the case and let Chinmayanand walk free.
“He has already been shifted to the hospital where he is enjoying all the luxuries. Now, they have arrested my daughter. This is all an attempt to silence us for raising our voice against Swami Chinmayanand,” he said.
The law student, who studied in a law college in Shahjahanpur run by a trust of Swami Chinmayanand, had accused the former minister of sexual harassment in a video clip which was uploaded on a social networking site. Following that, the girl had gone missing. The police recovered the girl from Rajasthan but before that an extortion case was already filed by Swami Chinmayanand against unidentified persons. Later, the victim handed a pendrive with over 40 videos of Chinmayanand taking nude massages from her to prove her allegations.
Naveen Arora, on the day he arrested Chinmayanand, told a press conference in Shahajahanpur that Chinmayanand has accepted most of the allegations against him. He added that Chinmayanand had replied to the rape allegation by saying, “I do not want to talk more about this and I am ashamed of my deeds.”
The former union minister has been booked under sections 354D, 342 and 506 of the IPC. He was arrested last week and has been in Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences- Lucknow (SGPGI) since Sunday, September 22.
Also read: Former BJP MP Chinmayanand Booked As His Accuser Goes Missing
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