The Uttar Pradesh Police has jailed the law student from Shahjahanpur, who has accused BJP politician Chinmayanand of sexual assault, in an extortion case. The police has already arrested three men in the extortion case. Chinmayanand was arrested last week but has not been charged with rape.
ThePrint asks: Shahjahanpur law student arrest: Is UP police weakening Chinmayanand case by booking her?
UP Police had already weakened the case against Chinmayanand by not booking him for rape
SR Darapuri
Retired I.P.S. Officer
The section under which Chinmayanand was booked has already ensured that the case against him is weak. The arrest of the Shahjahanpur law student can’t weaken it further. Section 376(c) of the IPC charges anyone in authority abusing their position with “sexual intercourse… not amounting to rape”, and invites imprisonment for 5-10 years. Chinmayanand should have been booked under the more severe Section 376(2) instead, which could lead to imprisonment from 10 years to life if found guilty of rape.
It is also important to note that the Allahabad High Court had in 2011 passed an order laying down certain conditions that have to be met before someone booked for offences
that attract punishment of less than seven years can be arrested. The offence of extortion carries a punishment of three years, so the UP Police should not have arrested the student but only recorded her statement and given her bail.
Section 383 of the IPC states that there must be injury or fear of injury, or delivery of money for it to constitute the offence of extortion. Since neither of these two scenarios took place in the extortion case, there is no offence of extortion at all. It is very evident that the SIT is biased and that the UP Police is favouring Chinmayanad and trying to pressurise the law student.
Also read: UP law student, who accused Chinmayanand of rape, placed under arrest in extortion case
In Shahjahanpur case, law will decide final outcome. In UP, only rule of law thrives
Manoj Mishra
BJP UP spokesperson
It is important to understand that in the Shahjahanpur case where a law student has accused former Union minister and BJP leader Chinmayanand of rape, the law is taking its course and will decide the outcome of the case.
It cannot be underscored enough that in Uttar Pradesh only the rule of law thrives and all administrative and bureaucratic undertakings are in compliance with laws enshrined in the Constitution. As a BJP spokesperson and a private citizen, I know that judiciary will have the final say on this matter.
It is absolutely wrong to think that by arresting the student, the UP Police is casting aspersions and weakening the case against Chinmayanand. Whether it is the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh or the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, there has never been any interference in the investigations of cases led by SITs. All investigating agencies in India work with complete independence and freedom, and do not take any instructions from the government.
Also read: 6 am massages, 2.30 pm ‘sex’ — law student recalls ‘horror sessions’ with Chinmayanand
Kathua, Unnao & Shahjahanpur are killing the very spirit of the Nirbhaya movement
Sudhindra Bhadoria
Media Spokesperson, BSP
The charges levelled by the law student against BJP leader Chinmayanand have been in the public domain for some time now. Because of the social media, everyone knows the kind of incidents Chinmayanand was allegedly involved in. And now, Chinmayanand himself has said that he’s ashamed of his actions in the Shahjahanpur case.
This, however, is not a one-off incident of alleged involvement of a politician in a criminal case. In the Unnao case, the girl’s father died in police custody and her relatives died in a car accident. In the Kathua case, the minor girl suffered at the hands of the goons and we all know who these people were and how they chanted slogans in the name of religion.
In this particular case, the girl (Shahjahanpur law student) was arrested because she had the courage to speak up.
All these incidents are killing the very spirit of the Nirbhaya movement.
While one cannot say if the SIT is under any political pressure in this case, but we have seen investigations in the past that were politically motivated. I definitely want the Supreme Court to appoint a judge to authorise a fair inquiry into the Shahjahanpur case. It is extremely clear that the girl is suffering because of the political influence that Chinmayanand enjoys.
Extortion case is Chinmayanand’s defence and the UP police is helping him strengthen it
V.N. Rai
Former Additional Director General of Police in Uttar Pradesh
In the case of the Shahjahanpur law student accusing three-time BJP MP Chinmayanand of rape, it is very evident that prima facie, the case against him has been weakened. Moreover, justifications are being made for him. Some are trying to project it as a consensual relationship because it went on for a long period, and that the girl was conspiring against him by trying to extract money from him. This is essentially the defence that the accused Chinmayanand is trying to build and the UP Police is helping him strengthen his defence.
It is also fairly visible that the SIT is acting under pressure. There is evidence against Chinmayanand as everything is on those tapes that the law student has provided. Yet, the police did not register a case immediately and took time in filing an FIR. The counter-allegations against the girl should definitely be looked into. But the way the SIT is conducting the investigation, it is obvious that Chinamayand is taking advantage of his political patronage. It is no hidden fact that the leader, who the BJP now says isn’t a member of the party anymore, is a close associate of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
If women face reverse-attack every time they report sexual assault, they will be dissuaded
Kalpana Vishwanath
Activist and Co-founder of Safetipin (social enterprise providing technology solutions for safer cities for women)
By casting aspersions on the Shahjahanpur law student who came forward with the allegation of rape against Chinmayanand, the Uttar Pradesh Police is most definitely weakening the case against him. The police is trying to intimidate her and this needs to be taken extremely seriously. One must pay attention to the amount of courage it takes to come forward in a state like Uttar Pradesh where a politician holds a substantial amount of influence. If a woman faces a reverse-attack each time or is arrested like in this case or faces challenges like in Priya Ramani’s case against M.J. Akbar, women will be further dissuaded from coming forward and reporting cases of sexual assault.
What this does is essentially create an atmosphere where women are not being believed to be the victims, which puts the fear back in them. Moreover, it is a way of showing women their place in society. I am strongly and deeply distressed by this. Police should be careful and considerate if a woman reports a case, especially if there is evidence against her perpetrator. However, in the Shahjahanpur case, the woman herself is being arrested for extortion. Casting aspersions on the law student puts the burden of proof on her. The overall message which stays after this is that ‘women lie’.
By Revathi Krishnan, journalist at ThePrint
Adityanathji, read these articles, rise above party or religion politics and act judiciously. Even God fails, you should not think you will always win over the people by shielding culprits. That will be a great failure on whom people put faith.
The National Police Academy is named after Sardar Patel, who created the ethos of the Indian civil service for an independent country. The expectation would have been that successive batches of officers who pass out of its portals would internalise his value system.
Speechless. Aur toh kya keh sakte hain. If not the men, one hopes at least the women of Uttar Pradesh will keep these things in mind when they head to the polling booths next time to choose their state government.