UP govt says no to Congress’ protest march for student who accused Chinmayanand of rape

india

Updated: Sep 30, 2019 12:25 IST

Congress leader Jitin Prasad was taken in preventive custody in Shajahanpur when he, along with other party leaders, was taking out a Nyaya yatra to highlight the treatment meted out to Uttar Pradesh law student who has accused ex-BJP leader Chinmayanand of raping her.

The student is curently in jail for allegedly extorting Chinmayanand.

“UP is no Kashmir yet today I am in preventive custody for simply wanting to highlight the plight of the Shahjahnpur rape victim. This BJP govt has no qualms in quashing an individual’s fundamental rights,” tweeted Jitin Prasada soon after he was taken into custody.

Defending the government, City Magistrate, Shahjahanpur Vineeta Singh said permission was denied in writing to them (Congress leaders) yesterday. “To maintain the law and order during festival season, permission was denied,” she said.

On Sunday, a Congress delegation met the family of the jailed Shahjahanpur woman. Her father had written a letter to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi requestying help. The party had decided to launch a ‘padayatra’ from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow on Monday.

In the letter addressed to Priyanka, the woman’s father said, “My daughter is being falsely implicated by the investigation agency due to the political clout of Chinmayanand. I request you to make the police book Chinmayanand for rape.”

The Shahjahanpur court will hear the law student’s bail plea later today.

Chinmayanand, who was arrested by the SIT on September 20, is undergoing treatment at Lucknow’s Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences. He has not yet been charged for rape.

A spokesperson of the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit had said on Wednesday that Chinmayanand was not in the party anymore.

Stepping up attack on the BJP, Priyanka Gandhi, in a tweet, said, “The arrest of accused BJP leader was deliberately delayed by the police. Arrested after public pressure. The accused has not even been charged with rape so far. Wah re BJP ka nyay.”