Protection for accused, jail for victim: Kapil Sibal on Chinmayanand case

New Delhi: In a veiled jibe at the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government over the rape case against Swamy Chinmayanand, senior Congress leader and lawyer Kapil Sibal on Friday said that 'protection for accused while the victim is being turned into the accused' has become the new normal.

"The new normal: The accused is protected. The victim becomes the accused! Alleged rapist Chinmayanand in hospital. Victim, denied bail, in judicial custody," Sibal said on Twitter.

On the other hand, Chinmayanand's lawyer has accused the law student, who levelled rape accusations, of conspiring against the BJP leader.

"I saw a video today in which the student who accused Chinmayanand of rape admitted that she instigated one of her friends to send messages to Chinmayanand demanding extortion money," advocate Om Singh said.

He asked if the girl was studying law to blackmail and extort money from respected people of the country.

"The girl who is in fact the prime accused in the extortion case, is trying to portray herself as the victim. This is a conspiracy against Chinmayanand," Singh added.

The law student was on Wednesday sent to 14-day judicial custody after a special investigation team (SIT) probing the matter arrested her in connection with the alleged extortion case.

The law student had gone missing on August 24 after a video of her alleging that a person from 'Sant Samaj' had threatened to kill her and her parents went viral on social media. Chinmayanand, in turn, filed an extortion case against her.

The student, who studied in a college run by Chinmayanand, had earlier testified before a local court that she was repeatedly raped by the BJP leader for over a year. She said that the accused recorded the incident on a camera and used it to blackmail her.

Chinmayanand, who was also sent to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the rape case on September 20, is admitted to Lucknow's Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences after he complained of chest pain.

He was the minister of state for home in the Vajpayee government.

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