Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi: BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand, accused of raping a student, was on Friday arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is probing the case. An official said that he was taken for medical examination to Shahjahanpur district hospital.
The development comes days after the law student, who had alleged rape recorded her statement in front of the magistrate. However, it is not yet clear what charges are levied against the former minister by the SIT. Chinmayanand has now been sent to a 14-day Judicial Custody.
According to information, Chinmayanand was arrested from his ashram in Saharanpur and was taken to district hospital for medical check-up amidst heavy security deployment. Members of the SIT were also present on the spot. The BJP leader will now be presented before court later in the day.
Earlier, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the BJP government and the police in Uttar Pradesh over the case, saying they were repeating the “negligence” shown and “protection” given to the accused in the Unnao rape case.
“The consequences of the BJP government and police’s negligence and protection to the accused in the Unnao rape case are in front of everyone,” Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
“Now, the BJP government and police are repeating the same in the Shahjahanpur case. The victim is in fear. But do not know what the BJP government is waiting for,” the Congress general secretary in-charge eastern Uttar Pradesh added.
Her allegations came a day after the student had threatened to set herself on fire if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was not arrested immediately. The student also asked if the government was waiting for her to die even after her statement was recorded before a magistrate.
Reacting to the issue, BJP Spokesperson Manish Shukla said, “Law is equal for everyone in Yogi Adityanath Government, SIT was working and when required they arrested Swami Chinmayanand. The govt has done remarkable job on law and order front.”
A law student from Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur, has accused BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand of raping and “physically exploiting” her for a year. The woman alleged that the former MP recorded videos of her while she was in the bath and used them to blackmail and rape her. He also shot a video of the act, she claimed.
The woman’s father had handed over 43 video clips to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case. He has also demanded that Section 376, along with the provisions for destroying evidence, be evoked against the former MP as some of the evidence has been removed from the hostel room of his daughter at the BJP leader’s behest.
The woman’s father told reporters that Chinmayananad had raped his daughter after blackmailing her with the recorded videos. His daughter then decided to record all his acts using a hidden camera. A friend of the law student had also spoken out in her support, confirming the charges pressed against the former MP.
“She studied with me in the same college and had told me about the problems she was facing. She told me she was first given free food and other privileges in the hostel but was unaware of what was in store for her. Later, she told me that when she went for a bath, her video was recorded, which was later used to blackmail her,” the friend recalled.
After this, on the directions of the Supreme Court, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a SIT headed by IG Naveen Arora. The Supreme Court had also ordered the transfer of the student and her brother to other law colleges saying it was important for their future.
However, despite the complainant recording her statement in court under Section 164 CrPc on September 16, the police did not arrest the rape accused, who complaining of chest pain has been in and out of hospital from that day onwards.
Finally, the police arrested him when the complainant threatened to commit suicide if she did not get justice.
