‘Don’t Speak to the Media’: SIT Tells Father of UP Law Student

The Special Investigation Team probing the Chinmayanand case has told the father of the UP law student, who accused the BJP leader of rape, to not speak to the media, sources close to the survivor’s family have told The Quint.

“If you talk to the media, it can severely hamper you and your daughter’s case.” 

Member of the SIT to law student’s father

The 23-year-old law student who accused Swami Chinmayanand of rape has been in police custody for over 24 hours now.

This comes on the heels of the survivor’s father’s statement to The Indian Express where he said that his daughter had done ‘no wrong’.

“The SIT today arrested my daughter on false allegations. There is no evidence against her and SIT booked her on false charges showing that she was with those three youths (arrested in the extortion case). It is all false. My daughter has nothing to do with this. In her statement, my daughter never confessed to any crime and SIT has been spreading lies in the media.”

Law student’s father to The Indian Express

Threats and Intimidation

The families of the three boys who have been jailed along with the law student on the charges of extortion are also being threatened. Sources close to the family of one of the boys told The Quint that three cars full of cops and investigating officers landed up at their house late on Wednesday night.

The family has been told not to speak to the media. 

Chinmayanand’s lawyers had filed a case of extortion against unidentified persons. They had alleged that a WhatsApp message demanding Rs 5 crore was received on the mobile phone of the BJP leader. The message, they alleged, threatened to make some video clips viral if the amount was not paid. The cops arrested three youth and the survivor.

The survivor’s family alleged on 25 September that the SIT “forcibly dragged her” out of their home after a brief interrogation. She was later taken for a medical examination and later produced before the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vineet Kumar.

Also Read: She’s Done No Wrong: Father of UP Student Who Accused Chinmayanand

Rape Survivor in Jail, Chinmayanand in Hospital, Family Gagged

On Tuesday, the survivor's father told the media that the SIT attempted to arrest his daughter when she was on her way to the anticipatory bail hearing.

“The SIT stopped my daughter a short distance from court. SIT officials were trying to take her with them. My daughter called me and I rushed to the spot with a few lawyers. When we raised objections, the SIT allowed her to attend court proceeding. The SIT was present in court yesterday through the hearing,”

Chinmayanand, meanwhile, is under “observation” in the Cardiology Ward of SGPGI, Lucknow. He had complained of ‘ill-health’.

The BJP leader was arrested on 20 September in the sexual assault case but has been booked under Section 376 C of the IPC – sexual intercourse by a person in authority, not amounting to rape. However, ever since charges have been framed against him, he has been under observation in a Lucknow hospital.

The survivor on the other hand, has already spent a day in jail. Her father has been gagged, he has been asked not to speak to the media.

Also Read: Chinmayanand Booked Under Section 376C of IPC – Why This is Wrong