Published 12:20 IST, September 13th 2019
Chinmayanand questioned for seven hours by SIT
Former Union minister, Swami Chinmayanand has been quizzed by the SIT for around seven hours in connection with a law student's allegations of rape against him.
BJP leader and former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand has been quizzed by the SIT for around seven hours in connection with a law student's allegation that he raped her, his counsel Om Singh said on Friday. He also said that the special investigation team, that came together on the orders of the Supreme Court, summoned Chinmayanad to the police on Thursday night.
According to Singh, Chinmayanand was later brought back to his residence, Divya Dham in Mumukshu Ashram, under heavy security. According to sources, the SIT team also inspected the bedroom of the BJP leader at the ashram but since it was very late they sealed the room. They are expected to continue their inspection on Friday, he said.
The victim said she was exploited for over a year
The 23-year-old postgraduate student and her family has alleged that she was raped and "physically exploited" for a year by the BJP leader, whose organisation runs several colleges. She also alleged that she was filmed and blackmailed during the course of the year.
She had said that after Chinmayanand facilitated her admission into the college last year, he advised her to move into the hostel and went on to blackmail her using a video clip of her taking a bath that she said was taken from a hidden camera.
According to a media report, she, in her statement, also said that she was often forced to give massages to the leader and was brought to him by his aides at gunpoint. According to her, the assaults continued until July this year when the victim decided to collect proof against Chinmayanand to eventually expose him.
In a letter to the SIT on Wednesday, the woman had alleged that some vital evidence was removed from her hostel room by Chinmayanand's supporters before it was sealed by the police.
Priyanka Gandhi speaks about the case
In connection to the case, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday attacked the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, alleging that the Yogi Adityanath government's "antics" have made it clear that it has "nothing to do with women's security".
She went on to ask why the state police has adopted a "lax approach" in dealing with the case, while also tagging a media report on why a rape case is not being registered by the UP police against the BJP leader.
"After all, why did the complainant girl have to come before the press to seek security? Why is the UP police going slow? Is it because the accused is from the BJP?" the Congress general secretary said.
Meanwhile, Chinmayanand has rejected the allegations while also alleging a political conspiracy to bring him down. His lawyer has further claimed that the woman and her friends are out to discredit the politician and want to extort money from hIM.
(With PTI inputs)
Updated 13:05 IST, September 13th 2019