Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Swami Chinmayanand — who is an accused of raping a student — has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Special Investigation Team (SIT). An official of SIT, who is investigating the case, said that he was taken for medical examination at a hospital in Shahjahanpur district.
According to reports, the arrest of Swami Chinmayanand came when he was on his way to the hospital for a medical checkup. Notably, after complaining of chest pain, he has been undergoing medical treatment by a team of doctors at his Ashram, where he was kept under house arrest since 13th September.
The BJP leader has been accused of raping a law student, who recorded her statement in front of the magistrate. However, it is not yet known that what charges are levied against the former minister by the SIT. He is likely to be presented before the Court later today.
The development comes days after Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the BJP government and the police in Uttar Pradesh for not taking this case seriously. She had also said that they were repeating the “negligence” shown and “protection” given to the accused in the Unnao rape case.
Priyanka’s allegation came after the victim had threatened to set herself on fire if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was not arrested instantly.
The victim belonging to Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur has accused Swami Chinmayanand of raping and ‘physically exploiting’ her for a year. She also alleged that the BJP leader also recorded videos of her while she was taking bath and used them to blackmail and rape her.
According to a report in News18, the victim’s father had given 43 video clips to SIT to probe the case. Speaking with reporters, her father told that Chinmayananad had raped his daughter after blackmailing her with the recorded videos. His daughter then decided to record all his acts using a hidden camera.
“She studied with me in the same college and had told me about the problems she was facing. She told me she was first given free food and other privileges in the hostel but was unaware of what was in store for her. Later, she told me that when she went for a bath, her video was recorded, which was later used to blackmail her,” the friend quoted as saying to News 18.
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