SIT Refuses To File Rape Charges Against Chinmayanand

Amidst allegations of shielding Chinmayanand, the influential BJP leader who has been a three-time Member of Parliament, UP Police led Special Investigation Team (SIT) has declined to make any changes in the FIR filed against the politician. The law student in her statements to the Delhi Police, Delhi court, SIT and Shahjahanpur court has claimed that the politician raped her several times over a period of one year.

“You will have to have faith in some investigating agency. If the investigation is going in the wrong direction, the High Court will monitor us. They are authorised to take our statements. We are not going to be influenced by some person or a media trial,” Naveen Arora, chief of the special investigation team or SIT, said at a news briefing, NDTV reported.

Key Takeaways:

• SIT appointed by UP Police has denied filing rape charges against the politician Chinmayanand. 
• The law student who accused Chinmayanand of rape has threatened to set herself on fire if he is not arrested immediately.

ALSO READ: Law Student Testifies In Court, Chinmayanand Complains Of Uneasiness

“I cannot talk about any modification to the FIR (against Chinmayanand). No one has been arrested till now. We have only called people for questioning. We won't change our investigation because people are raising questions. We do not need to hand out certificates to prove ourselves,” he added.

The 23-year-old girl who studied a master’s course in a law college run by Chinmayanand in Shahjahanpur has alleged that the 72-year-old leader first blackmailed her of making a video of her public that was taken by a hidden camera while she was taking a bath. Then he allegedly used that video to call her to his residence inside the campus to give him “massages.” She also claimed that his aides have taken her to his room at gunpoint.

A video has also leaked online that allegedly shows Chinmayanand getting a massage by a young girl (speculatively the law student herself) while being completely naked. The video caused a stir since the student’s father raised an issue with the video going public as the student only gave it to the SIT for the purpose of the probe.

After the police refused to charge Chinmayanand with rape on Wednesday, the girl threatened that she would set herself on fire if Chinmayanand is not arrested immediately. “Even two days after I recorded my statement before a magistrate, Chinmayanand has not been arrested. If the government is waiting for me to die, I will sprinkle kerosene on my body and immolate myself,” the student was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

“I cannot talk about any modification to the FIR (against Chinmayanand). No one has been arrested till now. We have only called people for questioning. We won't change our investigation because people are raising questions. We do not need to hand out certificates to prove ourselves,”

Her father also questions the fact that the SIT hasn’t presented a reason on why it has not charged him with rape after his daughter has clearly filed a rape FIR in Delhi.

ALSO READ: “Fate Worse Than Unnao Survivor” UP Woman Alleges Threat By MP

The girl went missing on August 24 right after publishing the video on Facebook. She was found a week later in Rajasthan. The SC bench comprising of Justice R Banumathi and AS Bopanna directed the Delhi Police to not let anybody meet the girl until the bench does.

Chinmayanand has filed a cross-complaint against the girl for maligning his image and has called the allegations against him fake and a conspiracy against him. The former minister isn’t new to criminal cases, as in November 2011 he was charged with rape after a girl who had lived at his Ashram for several years accused him. However, the Yogi Adityanath government in March this year had filed a plea to withdraw the case. But in May, a local court rejected it.

Picture credit: NDTV