Uttar Pradesh student, who accused BJP's Chinmayanand of rape, arrested in extortion case
Shahjahanpur (UP): The 23-year-old student, who accused BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand of rape, was arrested on Wednesday on charges of extortion, police sources said.
She was arrested from her house by the Special Investigation Team of the Uttar Pradesh Police around 9.15 am, the sources said.
She was then taken for medical examination, they said. She will be produced before a court later in the day, they added. A local court had on Tuesday accepted to hear an interim bail plea filed by the student.
The court has fixed Thursday for hearing her plea, which sought protection from arrest for allegedly trying to extort money from the former Union minister.
"It is a big relief for us as our plea has been admitted," her counsel Anoop Trivedi had told reporters after the plea was accepted for hearing. She was also questioned on Tuesday by the special investigation team (SIT) that was set up under the directions of the Supreme Court.
The student has alleged she was raped and physically exploited for over a year by Chinmayanand, who was arrested last week and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
Chinmayanand's own bail application was Monday rejected by Shahjahanpur chief judicial magistrate, who said it should be moved in the sessions court, according to his counsel Om Singh.
On Monday, he was admitted at Lucknow's Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, complaining of chest pain, and remains there under observation.
The CJM's court had also rejected the bail application of three men who were arrested on extortion charges filed by the BJP leader. The law student was also booked under the same charge.
On Monday, the Allahabad High Court had refused to grant interim bail to the student and directed her to file a fresh petition before an appropriate bench.
"This bench was nominated to the case only for monitoring the investigation in this matter and has no jurisdiction to pass order on stay of arrest," it said.
The SIT has obtained the remand of Sachin Sengar and Vikram --- two of three men arrested in the extortion case -- for 95 hours, to help trace the mobile phone used in the alleged extortion bid.
The police have also sent the mobile phone of Chinmayanand's counsel Om Singh, on which the message demanding money was allegedly received, for forensic examination, sources have said.
Chinmayanand, sent to judicial custody after his arrest, was booked under section 376C of the IPC, which is usually applied in cases where a person abuses his position to "induce or seduce" a woman under his charge to have "sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape".
This is a lesser charge than section 376, under which a rape convict faces a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The punishment under section 376C is between five and 10 years in jail.
He was also booked under sections 354 D (stalking), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The woman had claimed that the police were trying to weaken the case against the ruling party politician.
The High Court on Monday expressed satisfaction with the progress report submitted by the special investigation team probing the case.
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Ladakh a living land of dharma for centuries: Amit Shah
Leh/Jammu (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday described the return of sacred relics of Lord Buddha to Ladakh after 75 years as a "historic reunion" and said that the Union Territory has remained a "living land of dharma", preserving and nurturing Buddhist knowledge for centuries.
Stressing the relevance of Buddha's teachings in modern times, Shah said the message of peace, compassion and the middle path was even more important today than it was 2,500 years ago.
"Ladakh has been a living land of dharma for centuries. When the Dalai Lama comes here, he says this land is not merely a geographical land but a living laboratory of Buddhist culture and compassion," Shah said, speaking after the inauguration of the sacred holy relics exposition of Tathagata Buddha and the 2569th Buddha Purnima celebrations at Jivetsal in Leh during his two-day visit to Ladakh.
Calling Ladakh a land of compassion, he said this land has preserved and nurtured knowledge. "Whenever Buddhism faced crises, this land worked to protect the teachings of Buddha. And when peace returned, it helped to expand and carry forward that preserved wisdom," he added.
"Unless one internalises knowledge and makes it a part of oneself, liberation is not possible. Knowledge is incomplete without spiritual practice, while spiritual practice without knowledge is blind. Therefore, the union of spiritual practice and knowledge is the right path. Even after all this, if there is no moral discipline, one cannot lead a truly wise life. The basis of a life of wisdom is moral discipline," he said.
Shah said it was through Ladakh and adjoining routes that the teachings of Tathagata Buddha, which originated in India, spread to China and several other countries.
"The message that emerged from the land of Ladakh has become a guiding force for many people around the world to take their lives forward. The presence of these sacred relics in Ladakh reminds us that India's civilisation has, for thousands of years, given the message of peace and coexistence," he said.
He said that in a diverse region like Ladakh and Kargil, this message becomes even more relevant. "This heritage still tells us today that amidst conflict and unrest, only the path of peace and compassion can provide solutions."
He said the return of the relics on Buddha Purnima had enhanced the significance of the festival for the people of Ladakh.
"These sacred relics have come to Ladakh after 75 years. It is as if Buddha himself is present here today," Shah said, adding that followers of Buddhism and people of other faiths in Ladakh and Kargil would draw spiritual energy from the relics.
Highlighting Ladakh's role in the spread of Buddhism, Shah said Kashmir was once an ancient centre of Buddhist studies, Mahayana philosophy and Buddhist art, from where Ladakh first came into close contact with Buddhism.
He said Emperor Ashoka's envoys laid the foundation of Buddhist influence in Ladakh through Kashmir and Gandhara, while Mahayana Buddhism expanded in the region during the Kushan period between the first and third centuries CE.
The Silk Route linking Kashmir, Leh, Yarkand, Khotan and Tibet became a channel not only for trade but also for ideas, monks, manuscripts and artistic traditions, Shah said.
He added that later, Tibetan influence between the seventh and tenth centuries further enriched Ladakh through Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.
Stressing the relevance of Buddha's teachings in modern times, Shah said the message of peace, compassion and the middle path was even more important today than it was 2,500 years ago.
"Amid conflict and unrest, only the path of peace and compassion can provide solutions," he said.
Shah also appealed to the Ladakh administration to ensure complete arrangements so that followers of all faiths, especially Buddhists, could visit and pay obeisance to the relics.
#WATCH लेह, लद्दाख: केंद्रीय गृह मंत्री अमित शाह ने कहा, "जब दलाई लामा यहां आते हैं तो वे कहते हैं कि यह भूमि केवल भौगोलिक भूमि नहीं है। यह भूमि बौद्ध संस्कृति और करुणा की जीवंत प्रयोगशाला है। इस भूमि पर ज्ञान का संरक्षण हुआ है... भारत की सभ्यता हजारों वर्षों से शांति का संदेश… https://t.co/2nwG0w2CE6 pic.twitter.com/W13itRBqeX
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