Friday (September 20): Former Union Minister and BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand, accused of rape by a law student, was produced in a court and sent to 14 days judicial remand today.
Earlier today, he was arrested by the SIT (Special Investigation Team) of Uttar Pradesh police from his residence ‘Divya Dham’ in Shahjahanpur amid heavy security deployment, his lawyer Pooja Singh told.
The woman is a postgraduate student at one of the colleges run by Chinmayanand’s organisation. She has alleged that she was raped and “physically exploited” for a year by the former Union minister.
The student had earlier threatened self-immolation if the police do not arrest him.
Swami Chinmayanand was taken for medical examination to a government hospital. He was then taken to the the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate where he will be presented.
Teams led by senior police officials have been deployed at the court premises and the hospital. A team of police officials is also patrolling the area to ensure there is no disturbance, a senior official said.
The case is being investigated by the SIT set up by Uttar Pradesh police on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Inspector General Naveen Arora, who heads the SIT, said a mobile phone and a pen drive given by the student have been sent for forensic examination. The pen drive contains 43 video clips which the student says support her allegations.
Police has registered a case of criminal intimidation and abduction against Chinmayanand on a complaint lodged by the woman’s father. Later, the student also accused him of rape and “physical exploitation”.
