YOGI GOVT TO WITHDRAW RAPE CASE AGAINST EXMINISTER
LUCKNOW/AGRA: The Yogi Adityanath government has decided to withdraw a rape and abduction case lodged against former union minister of state (home) Swami Chinamayanand, an officer in Shahjahanpur said. The government has also initiated the process to withdraw a dozen cases against BJP’s Agra MP Ram Shankar Katheria, another officer said. Katheria is also chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. The twin moves come on the heels of the decision to withdraw 131 cases against Muzaffarnagar riots accused.
LUCKNOW/AGRA: The Yogi Adityanath government has decided to withdraw a rape and abduction case lodged against former union minister of state (home) Swami Chinamayanand, an officer in Shahjahanpur said.
The government has also initiated the process to withdraw a dozen cases against BJP’s Agra MP Ram Shankar Katheria, another officer said. Katheria is also chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. The twin moves come on the heels of the decision to withdraw 131 cases against Muzaffarnagar riots accused. The Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 claimed more than 60 lives and displaced over 40,000 people.
Even as efforts are on to withdraw the case against Chinamayanand are on, a Shahjahanpur court has fixed May 15 for the hearing after the rape survivor moved an application, demanding arrest of the former minister.
She filed an FIR against Chinmayanand under sections 342, 376,506,307, 323 and 313 of the IPC on November 30, 2011 at the Shahjahanpur kotwali police station.
The woman, who was a disciple and manager of Mumuksh ashram run by Chinmayanand, alleged that she was held captive, raped and assaulted for several years.
Chinmayanand got a stay on his arrest from the Allahabad high court. Later, the victim got her statement recorded by the judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC, but no action was taken by the district police.
On March 9, the additional district magistrate (administration), Shahjahanpur, Sarvesh Dixit sent a letter to the senior prosecution officer, directing him to move a petition in the court for withdrawal of the case registered against Chinmayanand. The petition will be moved in accordance with Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the ADM said.
On the other hand, PTI reported that the rape survivor has sent letters to the President and the district judge raising objections over the move, urging them for immediate issuance of warrant against the accused.
The survivor, in her letter, also said that Aditynath on a visit to Shahjahanpur, had lunch at the premises of the accused on February 25, 2018.
People familiar with the matter said the letter by the ADM (Shahjahanpur), asking the senior prosecution officer about withdrawal of the case is dated March 9, two weeks after Yogi met Chinmayanand in Shahjahanpur on February 25. HT contacted Chinmayanand for his version but there was no response.
As for the cases against Ram Shankar Katheria, the state government has sought a report about their status.
Basant Gupta, the district government counsel (criminal) at Agra Civil Court, said, “Letter has been received from the office of the district magistrate through which the additional district magistrate (City) has sought a report in regard to a dozen of cases pending in different courts of Agra. The prosecuting offices in these courts will provide 13 point status about the cases and a report will be submitted within two or three days.”
These 12 cases include one registered against the Agra MP’s wife Mridula Katheria too.
All these cases against Ram Shankar Katheria were registered during Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party rule. Filed between 2009 and 2014, the cases mostly pertained to protest staged without prior permission.
The state government had issued an order for the withdrawal of about 20,000 political cases registered against political leaders, legislators and ministers in the state under the Uttar PradeshCriminal Law( Composition of Offences and Abatement of Trials) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 passed by the legislative assembly. A senior law department officer said there was procedure under section 321 of the code of criminal procedure under which cases are withdrawn by the state government. The application for the withdrawal of the cases has been forwarded to the district magistrate of the respective districts. The report of the district magistrates will be put before a two-member committee which will forward its recommendation to the law minister. Once the state government gives its approval for the withdrawal of the case, the public prosecutor will move a petition in the district court. The court will take up the petition after the investigation officer files a charge sheet. It was for the court to determine whether cases could be withdrawn or not, he said. IB Singh, a senior lawyer in the Allahabad high court said, the public prosecutor had to convince the court that the withdrawal of the cases was in the public interest.