The law postgraduate student, who had levelled charges of sexual assault against former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand, on Monday alleged that she was raped and exploited for over a year by the BJP leader.
Addressing the press in Delhi, the woman, who was studying at a law college where Chinmayanand was the director, alleged that he exploited many more girls like her, but only she had courage to come forward and file a complaint.
"Swami Chinmayanand sexually assaulted me and physically exploited for one year," she alleged before the media, her face covered with a black scarf. "I have every evidence of the crime... go and open my hostel room," she added.
She also alleged that the Shahjahanpur police in Uttar Pradesh Police had refused to file her FIR and hence, she decided to file a complaint in Delhi. "The Delhi Police has registered this complaint at the Lodhi Road police station and has forwarded it to Shahjahanpur police," she said.
The woman also accused the local District Magistrate of trying to threaten her parents for complaining against Chinmayanand, a three-time MP.
The Supreme Court heard the woman's account in a closed hearing and ordered the UP government to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into her allegations. It had also directed that she and her brother - who was doing his LL.B at the same college here - should be transferred to another institution.
"On Sunday, the SIT quizzed me for about 11 hours. I have no problem with that. I have told them about the rape. Even after I told them everything, they haven't arrested Chinmayanand yet," she said. "Here I was running for my life, and the DM of Shahjahanpur threatened my father that you must see against whom you are filing a complaint," she added.
Background
About two weeks ago, the woman posted a video on the social media alleging that Swami Chinmayanand, who is the director of her college, was threatening to eliminate her and her family because she has evidence that could land him in trouble.
She sought the help of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the video.
"I am (name withheld) from Shahjahanpur and am pursuing LL.M from SS College. A big leader of the saint society, who has destroyed the lives of several girls, has been threatening me with (my) life. I have all the evidences against him. I request Modi ji and Yogi ji to please help me. He has even threatened to kill my family. Only I know what I have been going through. Modi ji please help me, he is a sanyasi and is threatening that the police, district magistrate and everyone else is on his side and no one can harm him. I request you all for justice," she said in the video.
The woman went missing the very next day on August 24, after she uploaded the video. She was tracked down in Rajasthan on August 30. The woman and her family had been provided with security, police said.
On august 29, Supreme Court agreed to take suo motu cognisance of the case after a plea from a group of lawyers requesting initiation of proceedings over the matter of the missing law student in to avoid a repeat like the Unnao incident. "We as a society can't allow another Unnao case to happen," they said.
The Supreme Court ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the case on September 2. The SIT is headed by chief Inspector General Navin Arora and comprises Bharti Singh, IPS, commandant of the 47th PAC Battalion, Ghaziabad, surveillance specialist Superintendent of Police S Anand and forensic experts along with 15 other police officers and experts.
The team has visited the woman’s hostel in Shahjahanpur as well as the accused BJP leader’s ashram to collect evidence.
Chinmayanand’s response
Former Union Minister and BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand on September 4 responded to these allegations and said he was being framed.
"I do not want to influence the SIT probe into the matter but I am confident that the inquiry will reveal the truth," he said at a press conference. Appearing before the media for the first time after the allegations were levelled, the BJP leader said he was pained that the incident has taken place at a time when he was making efforts to elevate the SS College to the status of a University.
"There has been an attempt to malign my image and thwart my efforts for elevating the college to the university level. I had even met the state Finance Minister in this regard and was scheduled to meet the Chief Minister. It is clear that some people do not want the college to prosper," he said.
His lawyer also claimed that Chinmayanand was being blackmailed, and had received a WhatsApp message demanding Rs 5 crore. However, a highly-placed police source in the Bareilly Range told IANS that even though Chinmayanand had filed an FIR on August 25 claiming he was being blackmailed, he had not provided any objectionable pictures, audio or videos to the police in support of his claims.
(IANS inputs)