SIT searches Shahjahanpur woman’s hostel room for six hours

Members of a special investigation team here on Tuesday searched the hostel room of the student who has accused BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand of raping and "physically exploiting" her for a year.

The SIT members, accompanied by forensic experts, spent nearly six hours at the hostel room to collect evidence in connection with her allegations against the former Union minister, college sources said.

“The student and her family members accompanied the SIT members during the search,” they said.

The team, which reached the hostel around noon, remained in the room till 5.45 pm, examining the postgraduate student's belongings.

After the search, the room was locked and sealed.

The SIT, headed by Inspector General Naveen Arora, was set up by the Uttar Pradesh government on a Supreme Court directive.

The college principal said though the room in which the student was staying was meant for two people, she lived there alone.

Police sources said no rape case was registered till Tuesday evening against Chinmayanand after she lodged a zero FIR in New Delhi.

The woman appeared before the press on Monday, alleging that Chinmayanand had raped her, and also "physically exploited" her for one year.

She had told mediapersons that the Shahjahanpur police was reluctant to register a rape case against the 72-year-old BJP leader.

"On Sunday, the SIT quizzed me for about 11 hours. I have told them about the rape. Even after telling them everything, they have not arrested Chinmayanand yet," she had said.

She had alleged that when her father gave a complaint to police here about her physical exploitation, Shahjahanpur District Magistrate Indra Vikram Singh "issued threats", asking her father to file "a missing complaint" instead.

"I have all the proof. The hostel room where I lived has been sealed. It should be opened in front of the media," she said, adding that she would give the proof, including video clips, at an opportune time.

On the FIR registered by Chinmayanand's lawyer alleging that she was demanding Rs 5 crore, she said, "It should be probed. This is a fake allegation." "He (Chinmayanand) has ruined lives of many girls. I can't tell the exact number. I am the only one to muster the courage and stand up," she added.

The SIT is looking into details of the probe conducted by the local police in the high-profile matter.

The SIT had called members of the girl's family at the district Police Lines on Sunday afternoon for recording their statement.

The apex court had said that an Allahabad High Court bench would monitor the probe.

The inspector general said the report would be submitted to the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope after the inquiry.

The SIT was formed last Tuesday, a day after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the case and directed the state government to investigate the charges levelled by the student.

The victim had gone missing on August 24, a day after she posted a video on social media, alleging that a "senior leader of the sant community" was harassing and threatening to kill her.

She was located in Rajasthan last Friday.

Her father had filed a complaint with police, accusing 72-year-old Chinmayanand of sexually harassing her, a charge refuted by the former Union minister's lawyer who claimed it was a "conspiracy" to blackmail him.

Police had on August 27 booked Chinmayanand under Sections 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code based on the her father's complaint.