Sex-ploitation charges: Supreme Court forms SIT to probe Swami Chinmayanand

A special team of the Uttar Pradesh police headed by an officer of the rank of Inspector General and comprising a Superintendent of Police among others will probe serious charges of sexual exploitation levelled against former BJP MP Swami Chinmayanand. This order came from the Supreme Court after it spoke at length with the victim, an LLM student, who posted a video on Facebook on August 24 and went missing after she claimed to have evidence of how the institution she was studying at, that was run and managed by the former MP, had many more girls like her being sexually abused and exploited.

Taking suo moto cognizance of serious allegations, the bench of Justices R Banumathi and AS Bopanna, which ordered the girl to be brought to Delhi on Friday, spoke to her and her parents at length in order to know her state of mind and ascertain what further relief could be provided to the victim who apprehended danger to her and family.

Addressing the Court after speaking to the victim, the bench directed the UP Chief Secretary to constitute the special police team immediately. While directing the girl to continue her stay at the All India Women's Conference for another 10 days, the bench tasked the UP Chief Secretary to ensure full protection to the family of victim on return to their native village Shahjahanabad.

The UP government pointed out that in addition to the FIR lodged by the victim's father, a cross-FIR had been lodged by the institution against the victim of trying to blackmail them. The girl informed the judges that she did not wish to continue at the institution. She further feared for her brother's career who was pursuing an undergraduate course in the same college.

The bench directed both FIRs to be probed into by the police team and to ensure fairness in the probe, requested the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to constitute a special bench for monitoring progress of investigation in the case. After speaking to the victim, the bench felt that her studies should not suffer in the meantime. It asked the state government to enquire the possibility of shifting her and her brother to another institution of her choice under Bareilly University. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikramjeet Banerjee appearing for state assured to get back on this by Wednesday.

The Court refused to comment on the genuineness of allegations but kept the issue pending only to address the concern of the victim's further studies.