Shahjahanpur rape case survivor files bail plea at Allahabad HC; local court dismisses Chinmayanand's plea to book her under Gangster Act

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday gave two weeks to the police and BJP leader Chinmayanand’s lawyer to file their objections to a bail plea by the law student who has accused the politician of rape. While the former Union minister has been booked under the Indian Penal Code’s section 376C, a charge short of rape, the woman and three others face a separate case of trying to blackmail him. [caption id=“attachment_7244481” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Swami Chinmayanand. News18[/caption] A special investigation (SIT) of the Uttar Pradesh Police has been probing the parallel cases. Seeking bail for her, the Shahjahanpur woman’s counsel argued that she is a victim of sexual harassment and all allegations against her are fabricated. However, counsel for the state government and Swami Chinmayanand opposed the bail plea, arguing that she is the main accused in the extortion case and there is sufficient evidence to prove it. They sought more time to file a counter-affidavit. Justice Siddharth granted two weeks’ time to the SIT and Chinmayanand’s counsel to file their reply and fixed 6 November as next date of hearing. On Tuesday, a local court also dismissed Chinmayanand’s petition demanding that the Gangster Act should be slapped on the woman and three others for trying to blackmail him. Chief Judicial Magistrate Omveer Singh dismissed the petition saying it was not in his jurisdiction. He directed that it should be moved before the relevant court, Chinmayanand’s lawyer Pooja Singh told PTI. Chinmayanand had also sent a letter to the state police chief demanding that the stringent Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-social Activities (Prevention) Act should be invoked against the rape survivor and her three friends. They were arrested last month on the basis Chinmayanand’s complaint that they tried to extort Rs 5 crore, threatening to upload online video clips showing him getting massages from her. The videos mostly relate to the massages Chinmayanand got from the woman, who claims she secretly filmed them as evidence of sexual abuse she allegedly suffered. According to the petition, Sachin Sengar, one the accused in the extortion case, had come to meet Chinmayanand at his home on 9 August. He allegedly told Chinmayanand that he had all the evidence with him and a false case will be lodged if the former minister did not pay up. The petition claimed that Sanjay Sengar has been earlier booked in two cases, including one for an attempt to murder, at Shahjahanpur’s Tilhar police station. The plea alleged that cases have also been lodged against the student’s father. It levelled allegations against the woman’s mother as well. Meanwhile, the SIT also submitted in the high court a status report in the case against Chinmayanand. The court fixed 28 November as next date of hearing and asked the SIT to submit a further report by that day. The bench of Justices Manoj Mishra and Pankaj Bhatia directed that the SIT should also submit the forensic report by the next date if it has received it. The forensic report is mainly required to match voices heard in the video clips with those involved in the case. Chinmayanand also faces charges of stalking, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation. The woman studied at one of the colleges run by the politician’s ashram.