Former BJP MP Swami Chinmayanand had received a notice by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing charges of sexual harassment against him but could not be questioned as his turn did not come, his lawyer Om Singh claimed on Thursday.
This comes three days after a law student from Shahjahanpur, who had earlier accused Mr. Chinmayanand of harassment, alleged that the former Union Minister had raped and “physically exploited” her for a year.
Mr. Singh said his client received a notice for questioning by the SIT a couple of days ago. But since many people were called for questioning that day along with Mr. Chinmayanand, only some could be questioned. “His [Chinmayanand’s] turn did not come, so he had to return. The notice was then cancelled,” Mr. Singh said.
He said Mr. Chinmayanand was ready to be questioned by the SIT whenever summoned.
“Whenever the SIT will call him for questioning, Mr. Chinmayanand will be present. He is here in his Shahjahanpur ashram only,” said Mr. Singh.
Health issues
While the police were yet to comment as to why the questioning did not happen, senior police officers involved in the probe said that they were told the accused had some health issues.
The LLM student on Monday, while addressing a press conference in Shahjahanpur, alleged that Mr. Chinmayanand had raped her and said that the police were not booking him under rape charges despite her pleas.
“He raped me. He exploited me physically for a year,” said the student. She also said that while she was questioned by the SIT for 11 hours, Mr. Chinmayanand was yet to be arrested. The student alleged that the Shahjahanpur District Magistrate had also threatened her father.
The case took a new turn after a video allegedly showing Mr. Chinmayanand receiving a massage from a girl, purportedly the law student, was widely shared on social media. The leader’s lawyer said “prima facie the video appears to be fake”.
