Rape Accused Chinmayanand Has Admitted to Almost Every Allegation, is Ashamed of His Acts: SIT Chief

Lucknow: Former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand, accused of rape by a law student, has admitted to “almost every allegation” levelled against him and expressed shame over his actions, the chief of a special investigation team said on Friday.

“Swami Chinmayanand has admitted to almost every allegation levelled against him, including sexual conversations and body massage (sic). Circumstantial evidence is also being examined. He said he doesn’t want to say more as he's ashamed of his acts,” SIT chief Naveen Arora said hours after Chinmayanand’s arrest.

“The phone call records of Swami Chinmayanand and the girl shows that they both spoke to each more than 200 times in all these years… He said that he was ashamed of what he had done,” Arora said.

The BJP leader has been sent to 14 days judicial custody by a court in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur. Charged with stalking, wrongful confinement and intimidation, Chinmayanand was arrested by the SIT of Uttar Pradesh police from his residence 'Divya Dham' at 8:50 am amid heavy security deployment.

He has been booked under sections 376c (intercourse by person in authority), 354d (stalking), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC, senior prosecution officer Kuldeep Singh said.

Chinmayanand's counsel Pooja Singh said the SIT took signatures of Chinmayanand's relatives on the arrest memo but no arrest-related documents were given to them.

The complainant, who is a postgraduate student at one of the colleges run by Chinmayanand's organisation, has alleged that she was raped and "physically exploited" for a year by the former Union minister. The case is being investigated by the SIT set up by Uttar Pradesh police on the directions of the Supreme Court.

Chinmayanand, who was admitted to the medical college in Shahjahanpur on Wednesday, was referred to King George's Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow. But he chose to return to his residence on Thursday and get ayurvedic treatment there, according to his counsel Om Singh.

He underwent several tests at the Shahjahanpur hospital where a team of four doctors monitored his condition, a spokesperson told PTI.

The student had earlier threatened self-immolation if the police did not arrest him. Inspector General Naveen Arora, who heads the SIT, said a mobile phone and a pen drive given by the student have been sent for forensic examination. The pen drive contains 43 video clips which the student says support her allegations.

The SIT has also examined the principals of the two colleges where the woman studied in recent years.

(With PTI inputs)