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Updated: Oct 08, 2019 10:00 IST

The Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) is likely to take a unanimous decision to support Chinmayanand in his court case, at the forthcoming meeting of the Parishad. The meeting is scheduled to be held in Haridwar on October 10, the ABAP said.

The development would be a u-turn on ABAP’s — the apex decision-making body of the 13 recognised Hindu monastic orders of the country — earlier resolve to oust Chinmayanand from the seer community.

ABAP head Swami Narendra Giri said that after viewing the second video in which three boys and the girl in question were conspiring to blackmail Chinmayanand into coughing up Rs 5 crore, it is clear that Chinmayanand, who has never been in a conspiracy of any kind and holds a position in the seer community as well as society, was honey-trapped.

“We seers respect ‘Naari’ but respect for a woman also has its limits. In this case, the girl is clearly heard conspiring with the three boys to blackmail Swami Chinmayanand, a respected saint and I feel he was drugged and trapped for which he is not to be held guilty. We will discuss the issue and hopefully resolve to support Swami Chinmayanand in his struggle for justice. If need be, the Parishad will also provide legal assistance to him,” he said.

According to Giri, off late, there has been a well planned effort to malign the image of seers, a recent example of which, was the arrest of yoga guru and priest of Bade Hanuman temple Anand Giri, in Australia, in May. He was charged with sexually assaulting two women. “However, investigations revealed that the seer was innocent and he was absolved of all charges. Hopefully, this will also be the outcome of the ongoing case against Swami Chinmayanand and the real culprit will be exposed,” he added.