SIT arrives in Shahjahanpur to probe Chinmayanand case

A special investigation team (SIT), which was constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on the orders of the Supreme Court, has arrived in Shahjahanpur to probe the harassment charges levelled by a woman law student against BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand.

The SIT, headed by Inspector General Naveen Arora, arrived on Thursday night and will start its investigation after looking into the details of the probe conducted by the local police.

"The investigations will start once we go through the evidences collected by the local police as well as the documents sent to the Supreme Court," Arora told reporters.

The officer said the team had seen the papers related to the 'rangdari' (extortion) case filed by Chinmayanand's counsel as well as the case filed by the father of the law student, and deliberated on them.

 

"We have included legal and surveillance experts in the team and, if required, a forensic expert will also be called," Arora said, adding that police officers having "upright and clean image" had been included into the team.

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

The SIT was formed on Tuesday, a day after the Supreme Court directed the state government to do so to investigate the charges levelled by the woman, who is a postgraduate student at a college run by Chinmayanand's trust.

The woman went missing since 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.

Her father had filed a complaint with the 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 father's complaint.

The apex court had taken suo motu cognizance and said the woman, who was found in Rajasthan last Friday, would continue to stay in Delhi till September 12.