Chinmayanand shifted to general barrack from hospital

LUCKNOW : A day after his arrest, former union minister and senior BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand was shifted to the general barrack of the Shahjahanpur prison from the jail hospital on Saturday.

According to jail officials, his condition was found normal by doctors who examined him in the hospital.

Thereafter, he was moved to the barrack. No special arrangements have been made for him in jail.

Chinmayanand was arrested on Friday from his residence in the morning by Special Investigating Team (SIT) for allegedly raping a 23-year-old woman who studied at a law college run by Chinamayand’s trust in Shahjahanpur. He was presented before a magistrate and sent to 14 days’ judicial custody.

The SIT also arrested three men for extortion of Chinamayanand. The woman law student, who has made rape allegations against the BJP leader, is also a co-accused in the case.

The woman, on the other hand, abstained from making any statement on Saturday and remained inside her house.

She had earlier said that she was not satisfied with the arrest because Chinmayanand was booked under weaker sections of the law pertaining to rape.

Meanwhile, SIT officials continued their investigation. A SIT official said the team was preparing the status report of the case which will be presented before the Allahabad high court on September 23.

The matter came to light when the woman went missing on August 24, a day after she 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. The Supreme Court took cognizance of the matter and directed the state government to form SIT to probe the matter.