Law student charged with extortion, says cops weakening Chinmayanand case

Shahjahanpur: The Uttar Pradesh law student, who accused former Union minister Chinmayanand of rape, was charged with extortion on Friday.

Special Investigation Team (SIT) chief Naveen Arora on Friday had said that the former BJP MP admitted to 'almost all' accusations levelled against him by the Shahjahanpur student, barring rape.

The BJP leader was arrested by the SIT of UP police from his ashram on Friday morning under section 376C of the IPC. It pertains to misusing authority to seduce or induce a woman to have sexual intercourse. He has not been charged with Section 376 which is for rape.

According to a one-page press release issued by the SIT, the complainant's name featured in the extortion case FIR. She was listed as 'Miss A,' The Hindu reported.

The complainant on Friday claimed that the UP police is trying to weaken the case against him and rejected any involvement in the alleged extortion.

'That is not my video. I have nothing to do with extortion,' she said.

'What I feared is happening,' she told the media referring to the section under which Chinmayanand has been arrested.

However, UP police chief O P Singh said that Chinmayanand has been arrested in connection with a rape case.

Three people were arrested on charges of sending extortion messages to the BJP leader, demanding Rs 5 crore. Two of them are the law students' cousins, News18 reported.

According to the police, all three confessed to making those calls and were sent for medical examination.

The law student praised UP CM Yogi Adityanath. 'Yogiji is a good person. All this was possible only because of him,' she said referring to the case.

She also said that Adityanath's name should not be associated with Chinmayanand's.

'Chinmayanand is a rapist, and his name should not be associated with Yogi Adityanath,' she said.

The law student had a number of qualms with the UP police.

'Why hasn't he been booked under Section 376C of the IPC?' she asked. 'I was raped and the day I appeared before the SIT, I said Chinmayanand raped me. Only a formality was carried out,' she said.

'Justice is not being delivered to the girl who was raped but the rapist was taken to the jail in Mercedes,' she said.

Further terming Chinmayanand's sickness as 'drama' she claimed that she knew why he made that 'excuse' of being ill.

A hearing related to the case will be held in the Allahabad High Court on September 23. 'I am confident that I will get justice,' she added.

(with inputs from PTI)