Is SIT justified in delaying FIR against ex-minister?

Police had also gone slow in dealing with high profile cases against politicians such as Sengar & Prajapati

LUCKNOW: Twenty-four hours after the Shahjahanpur law student questioned the delay in the arrest of BJP leader Swamy Chinmayanand in the rape and blackmail case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the case was yet to lodge an FIR, saying it needed solid evidence against the BJP leader to do so.

However, senior lawyers differ with the SIT take. “It is very rare for the investigators to take the victim before a magistrate to record their statement before lodging an FIR. Investigators usually do so once an FIR is lodged,” said senior high court lawyer Rohit Kant.

“If a zero FIR has been registered, investigators must lodge FIR in concerned police station and arrest the accused. Nothings explains the delay in arrest. In case, the health of the accused is not fine he must be presented before a magistrate after the arrest and on magistrate’s advise should be admitted to hospital if needed,” said IB Singh, another senior high court lawyer.

The law student recorded her statement before a judicial magistrate on September 16 in the case, which first came into limelight on August 24 when the girl, who went missing, posted a video on the social media alleging that a “senior leader of the seer community” was harassing and threatening to kill her. She did not name Chinmayanand in the video.

Later, the Supreme Court took cognisance of the matter

and directed the state government to form SIT to probe the matter.

The SIT team has since questioned the victim, her father, mother, brother, her three

friends (spotted in a video with her), besides quizzing Chinmayanand twice.

She had filed zero FIR (one that can be filed in any police station regardless of the place of incidence or jurisdiction) on September 7 in New Delhi which was transferred to the SIT on Supreme Court directions.

Ironically, Chinamayanad’s case is not the first case where investigators have gone slow in handling high profile accused.

The state police was also accused of not taking swift action in two previous high profile cases involving BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Sengar (Unnao rape case) and Samajwadi Party minister Gayatri Prajapati (rape case).

In the case of Sengar, the police booked him in the case of rape only after the victim attempted immolation outside CM’s residence. The case was later handed over to the CBI, which arrested Sengar on April 14.

The state police were also accused of being reluctant in lodging an FIR against SP leader Gayatri Prajapati accused of rape.

The woman wrote to the then Director General of Police (DGP) Javed Ahmed and eventually had to approach the Supreme Court to get her complaint lodged. After this, the state police booked Prajapati on February 18, 2017 and managed to arrest him a month later on March 15, 2017.

In the case of Chinmayanand too, the SIT has questioned the accused but is yet to lodge an FIR.

“I have submitted all evidence to the SIT that prove all my allegations against Chinmayanand yet they have not registered an FIR of rape against him or arrested him,” the woman said on Wednesday.