A 23-year-old law student, who accused former Union Minister Chinmayanand of rape, has been granted bail by the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday, 4 December. This is two months after she was arrested on charges of extortion.
Chinmayanand was arrested on 20 September after the 23-year-old woman, a student of a law college in Shahjahanpur, accused him of rape.
Chinmayanand had filed a counter-complaint in which he alleged that the law student and three other boys tried to extort Rs 5 crore from him.
The police had arrested four people, including the law student on charges of extortion, after a video clip in which they were seen discussing the issue had gone viral.
Allegations Against Chinmayanand
The woman had alleged that Chinmayanand, who runs several ashrams and educational institutions, had sexually exploited her after helping her with admission into his law college last year.
He allegedly filmed her taking a bath at the hostel, blackmailed her with the video and raped her. She was also allegedly brought to his room at gunpoint and forced to give him massages.
The case went public when the student vanished on 24 August, after putting up a Facebook post without naming the politician.
Chinmayanand's team then filed an extortion case.
When the Uttar Pradesh Police tracked the student down after a week, the Supreme Court heard her allegations and ordered a SIT probe into the matter.
The BJP leader has been charged under a law that deals with rape but a sub-section has been applied in his case, which deals with 'misusing authority for sexual intercourse'.
The reading of the section suggests a watered-down charge which carries a punishment of five to ten years in jail and a fine.
A direct rape charge would have meant a seven-year jail term extending to a life term. He has also been charged with stalking, criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement.
Chinmayanand is currently lodged in Shahjahanpur jail.
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