Shahjahanpur | Uttar Pradesh police filed an FIR against former Union minister and BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand after a law student went missing a day after accusing him of sexual harassment.
The LLM student has been reported missing after a video of her allegations went viral on social media over the weekend.
The girl, who is the student of SS Law College, had accused a former BJP MP (who is also the director of her college) of “destroying the lives of several girls”.
The woman does not name anyone in her video, but her father has filed a missing complaint naming Chinmayanand, who is the president of the college management.
In the video posted on August 23, she has sought help from Prime Minister Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath.
“I am (name withheld) from Shahjahanpur and am pursuing LL.M from SS College. A big leader of the saint society, who has destroyed the lives of several girls, has been threatening me with (my) life. I have all the evidence against him. I request Modi jiand Yogi ji to please help me. He has even threatened to kill my family.”
“Only I know what I have been going through. Modi ji please help me, he is a sanyasi and is threatening that the police, district magistrate and everyone else is on his side and no one can harm him. I request you all for justice,” said the girl.
A day later, she goes missing.
Family accuses Chinmayanand
While talking to reporters, the girl’s mother revealed that her daughter had visited home on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan festival.
“I asked her why her phone remained switched off so frequently. She said, ‘If my phone goes off for a longer duration then understand that I am in trouble. My phone will go off only when it is not in my hands’. My girl was going through a lot of pain and trouble but did not divulge much. She told me she was being sent to Nainital by her college administration.”
Her father added: “My daughter never told me anything personally. She looked worried when she was home on Raksha Bandhan. She has been missing for four days. I have given a written complaint against college director Swami Chinmayanand but no action has been taken yet.”
“Many fears are emerging in my mind. This has been done by Swami Chinmayanand,” the woman’s father also told reporters in Shahjahanpur.
“I tried to look for her among my relatives too but she is nowhere to be found. These are influential people, it’s their government in the state and at the centre too, they can do anything. I expect that Yogi ji and Modi ji will help me,” he added.
Chinmayanand’s followers file a counter-complain
Meanwhile, a counter-complaint has also been lodged by the supporters of Swami Chinmayanand. According to the counter-complaint, an anonymous call was made to Swami Chinmayanand demanding Rs 5 crore.
Another report suggests that Chinmayanand had received a WhatsApp message for extortion of Rs 5 crores.
The lawyer made the complain hours after the video went viral.
Chinmayanand’s spokesperson Om Singh alleged that the woman wants to get rich overnight by making false plans.
“I am surprised (at the allegations). The police are investigating. All the allegations are false and have been made to discredit the organisation and Swami’s image. The girl is sitting in a car. She is free to sit in a car and make a video, so how can there be a threat to her life,” Om Singh questioned. “She could have used the same car to go to a police station”, he said, as reported by NDTV.
Not the first complaint against Chinmayanand
Swami Chinmayanand was a Union minister in the third Atal Bihari Vajpayee government (1999-2004). He was a member of the Lok Sabha from Jaunpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh during the period.
An FIR had been lodged by a woman who had claimed she was held captive, raped and assaulted over several years. She had been staying at his ashram for some years.
The police had filed a charge-sheet in 2012. However, the three-time MP was never arrested.
The UP government, however, had taken a decision to withdraw the rape and kidnapping case filed against Swami Chinmayanand last year.
The Police are investigating the matter after receiving complaints from both the counter- complaints.
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