Court gives breather to student, who accused Chinmayanand of rape
The 23-year-old law student, who accused former Union Minister and BJP leader Chinmayanand of rape, got a reprieve on Tuesday after a court agreed to hear her plea seeking protection from arrest in connection to extortion case filed against her. Her request will be heard on Thursday, and it is unlikely that the Uttar Pradesh police will arrest her by then. Here's more.
Last month, the woman released an explosive clip alleging harassment at the hands of a "big leader of saint community". A day later, she went missing, was found a week after that, and then said Chinmayanand, who runs the college where she studied, raped her for a year. He was arrested last week, but his team filed a counter case against her for extortion.
On Monday, the woman had approached Allahabad High Court, seeking relief in the extortion case as she anticipated the SIT might arrest her. Rejecting her request, the court said she should approach an appropriate bench. "This bench was nominated to the case for monitoring the investigation in this matter and has no jurisdiction to pass an order on stay of arrest," the bench noted.
In fact, the court also dismissed a second prayer by the woman in which she said she wanted to re-record her statement as the one documented before the magistrate was not "proper". The court said there was no allegation against the concerned magistrate. About SIT, which was formed on Supreme Court's orders, HC said it was satisfied with the probe.
To recall, despite serious allegations against Chinmayanand (the woman alleged he raped, blackmailed her and forced her to give massages), SIT didn't book him for rape. Instead, the 72-year-old was booked for "misusing authority for sexual intercourse", naturally infuriating the victim. She claimed attempts were being made to weaken her case and also said she had nothing to do with the extortion matter.
On the case filed against her, the woman said, "I do not know if the people who helped me escape from Chinmayanand were using me. I have nothing to do with the extortion case. I think all this drama is being done to dilute my charges of rape." Further, police arrested three of her acquaintances in the extortion case and they reportedly confessed.
In yet another development, Chinmayanand was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute (SGPGI) on Monday. On Friday, he was sent to judicial custody for 14 days and hasn't been keeping well since. A team of cardiologists examined him, revealed jail superintendent Rakesh Kumar. He might stay there for some days. Chinmayanand's health "dipped" after a local court in Shahjahanpur rejected his bail plea.
