CPM's Brinda Karat accuses Yogi govt of shielding Chinmayanand in rape case

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat on Thursday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government after the girl student, who had levelled rape allegations against former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand, was arrested.

"In this whole case, power is being misused to save the rape accused. After going through the case, we have no hesitation in saying that it is shameful that the Uttar Pradesh government and administration is working to shield the accused either directly or indirectly," while addressing a press conference here.

Karat further demanded the police to register an FIR based on the girl student's complaint.

"The biggest shortcoming in the whole probe is that the girl's FIR has not been registered. The girl gave her statement that she was raped, so why did they not register her complaint? " Karat stated.

"Why was the girl sent to jail despite the fact that the charge on her was bailable? Instead of arresting the accused, you are sending a rape victim to jail? It is inhuman," she added.

The communist leader and other women activists met the girl student in jail on Thursday. The group also submitted a representation in support of the girl student to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the case.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Naveen Arora, heading the SIT, said that during the interrogation, the student had accepted that she instigated one of her friends to send the messages to Chinmayanand demanding extortion money.

The friend, along with two others, was arrested earlier this week on charges of extortion, the disappearance of evidence and criminal intimidation, among other sections. They also confessed to have made extortion calls to Chinmayanand.

The law student went missing on August 24 after a video of her alleging that a person from 'Sant Samaj' had threatened to kill her and her parents went viral on the social media. Chinmayanand's team, in turn, filed an extortion case.

The student, who studied in the college run by Chinmayanand, had later testified before a local court that she was repeatedly raped by the BJP leader for over a year. She said that the accused recorded the incidents on camera and used them to blackmail her.

Chinmayanand, who was the Minister of State for Home in the Vajpayee government, too is in judicial custody in connection with the case.