Chinmayanand case: Arrested law student sent to 14-day judicial custody in extortion case

493
Swami Chinmayanand. File photo

New Delhi, September 25: The Shahjahanpur law student, who has accused BJP leader Chinmayanand of rape, has been arrested in the extortion case against her.

The woman has been sent to 14-day judicial custody in the extortion case against her.

The law student was arrested from her house by the Special Investigation Team of the Uttar Pradesh Police around 9.15 am. She was then taken for medical examination, they said. She will be produced before a court later in the day, they added.

The law student’s arrest case a day after a local court admitted the interim bail plea filed by the law student. While the court had fixed Thursday for hearing her plea, which sought protection from arrest, the SIT arrested the law student on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old woman was had on Tuesday also faced questioning later by the SIT set up by the Uttar Pradesh police under the directions of the Supreme Court.

SIT TO FURTHER PROBE VICTIM’S FRIENDS HELD FOR EXTORTION

The court on Tuesday had rejected the bail application of three men, Sanjay, Sachin, and Vikram, arrested on extortion charges filed by the BJP leader.

A special investigation team (SIT) on Tuesday took Sachin and Vikram on remand for 95 hours for taking them to the site for recovery of a mobile phone allegedly used in making the extortion demand, sources in the probe team said.

According to the sources, the accused had told the SIT that they had thrown the mobile phone, which was used to make the alleged extortion call, near Mehandipur Balaji in Rajasthan.

The SIT probing the case had earlier arrested the three on charges of trying to extort money from Chinmayanand and named an unidentified woman as a suspect in the same case. The SIT has also sent the Chinmayanand lawyer’s mobile phone, on which the alleged extortion message was sent, for forensic examination, the sources said.

The court had on Monday refused to accept a second prayer by the woman, who sought permission to record a rectified/fresh statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as she said her earlier statement made before the magistrate was not proper.

The court observed that there was no allegations against the magistrate concerned nor any provision had been shown for recording a rectified statement of the woman.

THE CASE

The student has alleged she was raped by Chinmayanand for over a year. She first mentioned harassment by Chinmayanand in a video clip uploaded on social media last month.

The SIT was formed after the Supreme Court had on September 2 taken suo motu cognizance of the case and directed the high court to monitor the investigation and about protection to the family members of the woman.