Akhara Parishad to decide on expulsion of Chinmayanand

The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, the organisation of Hindu saints and ascetics, has called a meeting of all the Akharas at Haridwar on October 10 to expel BJP leader and former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand from the community, as per ANI. According to sources, he will remain ousted from the saint community unless acquitted by the Court. It is pertinent to mention that a month after a law student levelled charges of rape against Chinmayanand, he was arrested on Friday by Uttar Pradesh police. He was charged with an offence not amounting to rape, stalking and criminal intimidation. He was remanded to 14-days judicial custody by a local Court at Shahjahanpur. As per police, Chinmayanand has accepted "all evidence" that have come up against him.

READ: Chinmayanand case: Rape accused Ex-Minister arrested in Shahjahanpur

The matter came to the fore when the girl went missing on August 24 after putting up a Facebook post alleging that a person from 'sant samaj' threatened to kill her and her kin. She did not name Chinmayanand then. She was tracked down in Rajasthan six days later and produced before the Supreme Court the same day after a direction from the apex court. The apex court then directed setting up an SIT to probe the matter.

READ: Chinmayanand questioned for seven hours by SIT

Woman record statement

The student who leveled rape charges against BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand recorded her statement before a magistrate here on Monday. The special investigation team (SIT) probing the case took her to court, where her statement was recorded before Judicial Magistrate Geetika Singh, official sources said here. She remained in the court for around four hours and told PTI that the magistrate recorded her statement in 10 to 12 pages.  "I have told the magistrate about the rape complaint I gave in New Delhi, my missing spectacles and a chip from the hostel room. I also informed about the bedding and liquor bottles, which were removed from the Chinmayanand's room," she said

READ: Chinmayanand case: Woman records detailed statement to magistrate

SIT probe in Chinmayanand case

The Supreme Court-appointed SIT had on Sunday examined three friends of the victim besides some employees of her college. The victim's friends, who were examined, included the one who was with her when she was traced in Rajasthan after going missing last month. The SIT called them to the Police Lines here and recorded their statements, official sources said. The SIT had also examined principals of the two colleges where the girl studied. Two other college employees were also quizzed.

Video footage given by the woman to the SIT had also allegedly leaked on social media. The girl's father on Sunday termed it a "conspiracy" and said he would request the court to order a probe into it. "From where have the screenshots and videos appeared on social media? The screenshots have been posted on various social media platforms. These were given to the SIT by my daughter. This is a conspiracy," he said. The law student had on Saturday gave a pen drive containing 43 videos to the SIT to support her allegations after the sleuths asked her to submit whatever evidence she had against the former Union minister. The SIT had taken the woman to Chinmayanand's bedroom on Friday morning and had collected evidence. 

(with ANI inputs)

READ: Congress slams the BJP, accuses the Centre of protecting Chinmayanand