LUCK: The 23-year-old LLM student who had accused former BJP deputy Chinmayanand of sexual exploitation last year turned hostile before a special MP-MLA court in Lucknow on Tuesday.
The court was hearing the case under the direction of the Allahabad High Court. The student appeared in court on Tuesday and categorically denied having made allegations against the former minister as prosecution had loaded.
Stunned by the development, the prosecution team immediately forwarded an application under Section 340 of the CrPC seeking action against him for perjury. Judge PK Rai ordered his office to register the application and asked the prosecution to provide a copy of the application to the woman and the accused. The court set October 15 for a hearing on the application.
The woman was a student at a law school run by the Chinmayanand ashram in Shahjahanpur and had accused him of sexual exploitation. The case made national headlines when the woman disappeared and appeared before the Supreme Court. The UP government formed an SIT to investigate the case. Then, Chinmayanad He also alleged that she was trying to extort money from him. The two filed a counter-FIR and both were subsequently arrested. The two are now free on bail.
Chinmayanand was arrested on September 20, 2019. The investigating officer filed a charge sheet against him under Section 376 (C), 354 (D), 342 and 506 of the IPC. The IO cited 33 witnesses and 29 exhibits on a 13-page charge sheet. The former minister was released on bail in February.
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