New Delhi / 'Filmed, Blackmailed, Raped': Student's Charge Against BJP's Chinmayanand

A law student in Uttar Pradesh has alleged that she was filmed, blackmailed and raped repeatedly by Chinmayanand, a senior BJP leader and former union minister who has not been questioned by the police so far. No complaint has been registered against the politician either.

Sources say in a statement to the Delhi police and magistrate, the 23-year-old woman has described what she alleges was a year of sexual assault by the politician, who runs several ashrams and educational institutions. She has reportedly repeated the allegations before a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has questioned her for some 15 hours and has seen videos given by the woman.

In her 12-page complaint, say sources, the woman has said she first met Chinmayanand, 73, in June last year for admission in a law course at a college in Shahjahanpur he runs. She alleges that he took her phone number and arranged her admission. He allegedly called her and also offered her a job at the college library for a salary of Rs. 5,000.

She says she worked alongside her classes since her family was poor.

Chinmayanand allegedly asked the woman to move into the hostel in October and later invited her to his ashram. The woman claims he showed her a video of her bathing in the hostel, threatened to "make it viral" and forced himself on her. The politician allegedly also filmed the rape and used it for blackmail.

The woman alleges she was forced to give him massages and often, brought to him by his aides at gunpoint.

The alleged assaults continued until in July this year, the woman decided to make videos as proof against Chinmayanand.

In August, she posted a video on Facebook and ran away from the college. It was when she was missing that her father, citing her Facebook post, accused Chinmayanand of exploiting her and "many other girls". The Uttar Pradesh police, who had not filed his missing report, recorded the family's complaint three days after the woman went missing, listing charges like kidnapping and intimidation against Chinmayanand. But no First Information Report (FIR), which is the first step for a police investigation, has been filed.

The woman was tracked down a week later in Rajasthan. The Supreme Court, which had stepped in after lawyers flagged the case, asked the police to produce her and spoke to her in a closed hearing on September 30.

Last week, the woman filed a rape complaint in Delhi; she said she did not have faith in the UP police. "I don't have any problem in answering any question during investigation but first of all the accused has to be arrested. All these days I have been wandering around to protect myself and here the Shahjahanpur DM (District Magistrate) has threatened my father. I am afraid of the UP Police. I have all the evidences in my hostel room, when time comes I will provide all the evidences," she told reporters.

Chinmayanand has rejected the allegations and has alleged a political conspiracy to bring him down. His lawyer has discredited the woman and her family, saying they have put out false charges to trap the former minister. "You all know when on August 24 she made the first video viral, at that time she didn't say anything happened to her. She only accused him of threatening her. When she failed in her conspiracy, she created new drama," said Om Singh, the politician's lawyer.