Shahjahanpur: Chinmayanand, the BJP leader and former union minister accused of rape and blackmail by a law student but yet to be charged, was seen in photos receiving medical treatment on Monday night after he complained of “uneasiness and weakness”. Earlier in the day, the woman had recorded a five-hour statement in court detailing her allegations.
In photos released by his aides, Chinmayanand, 72, was seen lying on a divan at his home Divya Dham in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, hooked to medical apparatus. A team of doctors was called to treat him.
The medical team told reporters Chinmayanand had been suffering from diarrhoea. “He is also diabetic and this led to weakness. We have given him necessary medication and advised him complete rest,” ML Agarwal, the doctor leading the team, said.
This was hours after the 23-year-old woman, a student at a law college that Chinmayanand runs, went to a court protected by over 50 police personnel and recorded her statement in the court of the chief judicial magistrate.
After the statement, there is a strong possibility of the Uttar Pradesh police including rape charges against Chinmayanand, something which they have not done so far despite the woman filing a complaint with the Delhi Police and even making a statement before the Supreme Court.
The woman has alleged that Chinmayanand sexually exploited her for a year after helping her with admission into his college. He allegedly filmed her taking a bath and blackmailed her with the video and raped her. The woman says she was raped repeatedly by the politician, who runs several ashrams and institutions. She was allegedly brought to his room at gunpoint and was even forced to give Chinmayanand massages.
The woman says she decided to gather evidence against him and filmed him with a camera in her spectacles. The case surfaced when she went missing on August 24 after putting up a Facebook post without naming Chinmayanand.
When the UP police tracked her down after a week, the Supreme Court heard her allegations and ordered a Special Investigation Team to inquire into them. The team questioned the woman, visited her hostel room and later questioned Chinmayanand for seven hours last week, but has yet to add rape charges against him; at present, he only faces charges of kidnapping and intimidation. He had in turn filed an extortion case but against unknown people.
Police sources say a rape or sexual assault charge against Chinmayanand is the next likely step in the investigation, but an arrest may not be immediate. Sources also point out that no one has been arrested in the extortion case filed by the politician either.
