Shahjahanpur: Former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand, accused of sexual misconduct by a law student, has been questioned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case. Late Thursday evening, SIT interrogated the BJP leader at the Reserve Police Lines here in Uttar Pradesh. Chinmayanand was accompanied by his lawyer Om Singh. The interrogation went on for close to seven hours.
Earlier Thursday, SIT had recorded the statement of SS Law College principal Sanjay Kumar Baranwal and secretary Avanish Misra.
SIT sources had said Thursday that summons had been sent to Swami Chinmayanand earlier for questioning but the former minister did not appear citing health reasons.
According to reports, Chinmayanand was interrogated on the allegations leveled by the law student, as well as on a video clip showing him getting a massage by a girl.
The 72-year-old reportedly denied the allegations and claimed that he was being asked for money by some boys and when he refused to pay, they hatched the conspiracy against him.
The 23-year-old postgraduate student has alleged that she was raped repeatedly and ‘physically exploited’ for a year by the BJP leader, whose organisation runs several colleges in this city.
The law student also alleged that some vital evidence have been removed from her hostel room by Chinmayanand’s supporters before it was sealed by the police. Her father alleged that they removed from the room a pair of spectacles with a camera fitted in them, suggesting that this contained evidence against the BJP leader.
IANS