Chinmayanand
connection with rape, SIT mentioned a lesser charge.
Instead of section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, SIT booked him under section 376C related to “sexual intercourse by person in authority”. The section is usually applied in cases where a person abuses his position to induce a woman under his charge to have sex with him. The student studied at a college run by the 72-year-old BJP leader’s ashram.
If proved, a rape charge can lead to punishment of up to life imprisonment. Someone convicted under section 376C can be jailed for between five and 10 years. Hours after the arrest, the student indicated that she is not satisfied with the charges under which Chinmayanand was arrested.
“It is an attempt to weaken the case against him,” she told reporters in Shahjahanpur. Police said Chinmayanand was shown videos recording the student massaging him. He accepted this had taken place and said he was sorry, said Arora while addressing media persons here. “Swami Chinmayanand was arrested around 9 am and taken for medical examination at the district hospital. He was then presented before a magistrate and sent to judicial custody for 14 days,” said Arora.
Chinmayanand was booked under Section 376C (sexual intercourse by a person in authority), 354 D (stalking), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation), according to SIT.
Chinmayanand was taken to Shahjahanpur district jail in the afternoon and is said to have been lodged in the jail hospital, police said.The three arrested in the extortion case were Sanjay Singh, Sachin Sengar and Vikram.
“The three, accused of sending a message to Chinmayanand asking for ₹5 crore and threatening to release objectionable videos, have also been arrested,” said Arora. “Swami has confessed that he took massage from the woman. He has not confessed to rape yet. However, we will further investigate the case on the basis of evidence we have,” said Arora, “We have sent the mobile phone of Swami to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to recover data from it. We are yet to recover the phone used by the woman and Sanjay. Once recovered they will also be sent for forensic examination,” the officer said.The rape case came to light when the woman went missing on August 24, a day after she posted a video on 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.
The Supreme Court took cognizance of the matter and directed the state government to form a SIT to probe the matter.
Initially, Chinmayanand was booked under Sections 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code based on the complaint of woman’s father on August 27.
On August 25, Chinmayanand’s lawyer Om Singh file an FIR on his behalf for extortion and threat against four people, including the law student.
SIT began investigation of these two cases. However, on September 7, the woman lodged a complaint of rape at a police station in New Delhi after which a zero FIR was registered and transferred to SIT.
The SIT team on Monday presented the woman before a magistrate to record her statement regarding allegations of rape. She was earlier taken for medical examination. The SIT team has already interrogated at least 30 people, including Chinmayanand and the woman who accused him of rape.