Law student who accused Chinmayanand of rape denied bail in extortion case

The 23-year-old student who accused former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand of rape will have to stay in jail as a local court has denied her bail. The bail application was moved by student’s counsel Anoop Trivedi. The girl was arrested around 9.15 am from her home by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Uttar Pradesh Police amid massive deployment of forces. The former minister has accused the girl of extorting money from him.

SIT chief Naveen Arora said the student was arrested after ‘enough’ digital and forensic evidence were found and statements of people recorded.

“We have sufficient evidence that Rs 5 crore extortion money was demanded from Chinmayanand. Those arrested said they sent messages to Chinmayanand on directions of the girl in panic as they were not getting money and were upset,” he told reporters here.

The Shahjahanpur locality where the student lives witnessed the heavy deployment of police personnel on Wednesday morning. Roads leading to her residence were blocked from both sides before policemen entered the house to arrest her, sources said.

The woman was taken for a medical examination and later, produced before the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vineet Kumar, who sent her to 14 days’ judicial custody, officials said.

SIT chief Arora said forensic examination of the evidence, including pen drive and mobile phones, revealed that there was no addition, alteration, morphing, modification or editing in the videos.

The mobile location and calls made by the student and others were also verified and a chart was prepared which showed that the four (the law student and the three already arrested) were together and in touch, he said.

On the spectacles used for filming Chinmayanand, Arora said, “It was brought online in March by the girl. The girl said it was in her hostel room, which was opened in presence of a forensic team, principal, the girl and her father, but it was not found. We are yet to recover it.”

The SIT chief said the mobile messages deleted by Chinmayanand could not be retrieved by the FSL and hence, it has been sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat.

The three others accused in the extortion case—Sanjay Singh, Sachin Sengar, Vikram, alias Durgesh—were arrested by the SIT on Friday, the day Chinmayanand was arrested.

The woman and the trio have been booked under IPC sections 385 (extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201(disappearance of evidences), 35 (criminal act done with a criminal knowledge or intention) and 67 of the Information Technology Act, police said.

The law student’s father and brother alleged that she was arrested even though she did not commit any crime. Her father claimed that a police official was taking “a very soft stand” on the complaint against Chinmayanand.

The student has accused the BJP leader of raping and physically exploiting her for over a year.

Chinmayanand’s own bail application was rejected on Monday by the Shahjahanpur chief judicial magistrate, who said it should be moved in the sessions court, his counsel Om Singh said.

The BJP leader is currently lodged at Lucknow’s Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences after complaining of chest pain.

With PTI Inputs