india

Updated: Nov 05, 2019 00:54 IST

After questioning Shahjahanpur BJP leader and district cooperative bank chairman DPS Rathore, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sexual assault case against former Union minister Chinmayanand questioned former Dadraul legislator Devendra Pal Singh, considered close to the ex-minister who was arrested on September 20.

The former MLA was questioned on Sunday night about his alleged involvement in the extortion case in which the woman who has accused Chinmayanand of rape is an accused, a SIT official privy to the matter said. Singh allegedly arranged the video of the woman and other three men in which they are seen talking about extorting money from Chinmayanand, the official said..

Singh could not be contacted despite repeated calls. He was amongst a few sitting and former lawmakers who had visited Shahjahanpur district jail to see Chinmayanand after his arrest. The Official said the SIT asked him as to how he managed to get the video and what was the purpose behind it.

Earlier, the SIT quizzed DPS Rathore about his presence in Dausa in Rajasthan, on the day when Shahjahanpur police recovered the woman on August 30.

When contacted, Rathore said on Monday, “I was in Dausa to provide support in the recovery of the missing woman.” As per the woman’s statement, he was accompanied by BJP worker Ajit Singh, brother-in-law of Vikram, one of the accused in the extortion case. The SIT had earlier questioned Ajit Singh after the woman accused him of snatching the pen drive containing video evidence against Chinmayanand.

The Allahabad High Court has listed the bail plea of the woman on November 6 while it will hear Chinmayanand’s bail plea on November 8.

The woman was arrested on September 25. Along with three other men, she was booked under sections 35 (criminal act done with a criminal knowledge or intention), 201 (disappearance of evidence), 385 (extortion) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.

Chinmayanand has been booked under Sections 376C (sexual intercourse by a person or persons taking advantage of their official position), 354 D (stalking), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. Five days after his arrest, the BJP said Chinmayanand was no longer with the party.