Chinmayanand breaks silence, welcomes Supreme Court order to set up SIT

Facing the charges of harassment and sexual abuse levelled by an LLM student, former union minister and owner of Mumukshu Ashram in Shahjahanpur, Swami Chinmayanand broke his silence on Wednesday by welcoming Supreme Court's directive to set up an SIT in the case. He also expressed full faith in the judiciary and claimed that the complaint was part of a "very big conspiracy" against him by people who did not want academic development of Shahjahanpur.

After remaining elusive for over a week since an FIR of abduction and criminal intimidation was lodged against him, the former union minister appeared before the media persons to narrate his side of the story. He claimed that the case against him was nothing but an attempt to malign his image. -"The issue is in the Supreme Court. An SIT has been constituted. I have full faith in the judiciary and I will say whatever I have to say before the SIT as the matter is now sub judice,-" said Chinmayanand.

However, during his interaction with media persons, Chinamaynand refused to talk to electronic media asking them to switch off their cameras. Meanwhile, the state government had set the special investigation team to probe into the charges against Chinmayanand on Tuesday evening in compliance of the SC order. Referring to the current charges levelled against him, Swami said it was an attempt to put roadblocks in the path of turning Shahjahanpur Law College into a university.

"I am busy in completing the modalities but there are certain forces who do not want to see the academic growth of Shahjahnpur," he claimed. He added that all the facts would come to fore and queries will be answered during the SIT probe. "I do not know who these forces are. Why are they stooping to such a low? But now I don't want to make any comment which may influence the ongoing hearing in Supreme Court and probe being conducted by the SIT," Chinmayanand said.

The UP Police had visited Haridwar to trace the BJP leader after he was booked by the Shahjahanpur police when the student went missing following her allegation in a video clip that he had been harassing her. The SIT, headed by Naveen Arora, Inspector General, Grievances, constituted in the case will look into the two cross FIRs filed in the high-profile case. Instructions have been issued to Divisional Commissioner (Bareilly) and Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Jyotibha Phule Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, to admit the law student and her brother at Mahatma Jyotibha Phule Ruhelkhand University, Bareilly or any affiliated college.

Shahjahanpur police authorities have been directed by the government to provide adequate security to the law student, her parents and other members of her family. Though the girl and her parents are in Delhi, security has been deployed at their residence in Shajahanpur.

The law student had gone missing after levelling allegations against Chinmayanand in a video and was later found in Rajasthan by UP police.