Judicial custody of Swami Chinmayanand extended till Oct 30 in Shahjahanpur rape case

A court here on Wednesday extended the judicial custody of former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand in connection with the alleged rape of a law student.

"Chinmayanand appeared before the court through video conferencing from the prison. He was not produced before the court in person. The court has extended his judicial custody till October 30," said Chinmayanand's counsel Om Singh.

He also said that the court had already dismissed his bail plea and they will now approach the High Court for the bail.

The court had earlier sent the former Union Minister to judicial custody till October 16. Chinmayanand was arrested on September 20 following which he was sent to judicial custody.

He was also admitted to SGPGI Hospital in Lucknow till October 1 due to his health condition, following which he was sent back to Shahjahanpur jail.

The law student had gone 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.

The student, who went to the college run by Chinmayanand, 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 incident on the camera and used it to blackmail her.

Meanwhile, the girl is also accused of demanding extortion money to the tune of Rs 5 crore from Chinmayanand. She was also sent to judicial custody in a case of extortion registered against her in the matter.