Opposition attacks BJP over arrest of accuser
GROWING CONCERN Brinda Karat meets woman in jail, terms her arrest ‘inhuman’
LUCKNOW: Opposition parties attacked on Thursday the Bhartiya Janta Party over the arrest of the 23-year-old woman, who has accused former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand of raping her. The woman, a law student in Shahjahanpur, was arrested on Wednesday by the special investigation team (SIT) in an extortion case. Chinmayanand was arrested by SIT on September 20 on rape charges and is currently under treatment at Lucknow’s Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat visited on Thursday the Shahjahanpur jail where the law student is kept. Karat remained inside the prison for around 30 minutes. She later discussed the case with the woman’s family and assured them all help. She also visited the Shahjahanpur police lines to meet SIT officials.
Speaking to media persons later, Karat said, “Why was the girl sent to jail for a bailable offence. This is inhuman .”
The girl and her family have denied involvement in the extortion case. “My daughter has not confessed to anything. She was arrested to put pressure on her and weaken her case against Chinmayanand. We just want to appeal to the government to
ensure that justice is done in the case,” said the father of the girl adding, “We are being harassed while Swami Chinmayanand is being ‘pampered’ at SGPGI.”
The SGPGI, where Chinmayanad spent his fourth day on Thursday, said he was still complaining of severe weakness and urinary problems. “He is under observation and undergoing further investigations for his diabetes and urinary problems,” the hospital said.
Samajwadi Party president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav also criticised the BJP over the arrest of the woman. “BJP has revealed its real face by sending the daughter, who mustered the courage to raise her voice against a BJP leader, to jail. Today every daughter, sister, and mother in the country is saddened by this shameless act and some people are saying ‘Everything is fine in the country’. Condemnable! The slogan of ‘Beti Bachao’ too has turned out to be a jumla after all,” Akhilesh tweeted on Thursday
Earlier, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi in a tweet wrote,”The arrest of accused BJP leader was deliberately delayed by the police. Arrested after public pressure. The accused has not even been charged with rape so far. Wah re BJP ka nyay.”
In Lucknow, All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said Chimyanand had been admitted to the SGPGI Lucknow on complaint of chest pain. She said though angiography had found no blockage, Chinmyanand was said to be recovering at the premier medical institute.
A BJP spokesperson in the state had on Thursday said Swami Chinmayanand was not in the party anymore.
Last week, Chinmayanand was arrested on the complaint from the law student. That arrest coincided with the arrest of three more people - Sanjay Singh Sachin Sengar and Vikram Singh --for attempting to extort money from Chinmayanand. The woman is a co-accused in the extortion case.
The case hit national headlines last month when the woman went missing on August 24 after posting a video on social media alleging that a “senior leader of the seer community” was harassing and threatening her. Her father went public to blame Chinmayanand for her disappearance. She was later found in Rajasthan.
The woman, who studied at a college run by Chinmayanand’s ashram, also alleged that she was raped and physically exploited by the 72-year-old for over a year.