The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday granted bail to the Shahjahanpur law student who has been charged with trying to extort money from BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand whom she has accused of rape
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has booked the law student and her friends for attempting to extort Rs 5 crore from Chinmayanand by threatening to make public video clips that showed him getting massages from the student.
Justice SD Singh allowed the bail application of the law student after hearing counsel of the parties concerned.
The girl’s counsel argued that she was a victim of sexual harassment and all the allegations against her were fabricated. The counsel also pointed out that the girl was raped by Chinmayanand for over a long period of time.
Chinmayanand’s counsel opposed the bail application on the ground that she was hiding the spy cam which was used for recording the video of the BJP leader.
After hearing both the parties, the court allowed the bail application of the law student, observing that the police had already completed investigation in the case and had filed charge-sheet against the law student.
The court said no reasonable apprehension had been brought by the state that if the applicant was granted bail, she could delay the trial.
Almost a month after being accused of sexually harassing the law student, Swami Chinmayanand was arrested on September 20, 2019 by SIT, which is probing the case in Shahjahanpur.
The SIT had also registered a case against victim’s cousin, friends and also against an unnamed person on September 20, 2019 alleging that they had tried to extort money from Chinmayanand.
After arresting Chinmayanand for alleged sexual harassment of the law student, who was studying at a college run by him, the police had on September 20, 2019 also arrested three friends of the law student on charges of bid to extort Rs 5 crore from Chinmayanand, a former Union minister. Later the law student was also arrested in the extortion case.