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Former BJP minister Chinmayanand walks out of jail after Allahabad High Court grants him bail in sexual abuse case
The Allahabad High Court on Monday had granted him bail in the alleged rape case of a law student.
Former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand (72) was released from the district jail here in Shahjahanpur on Wednesday after the Allahabad High Court granted him bail on Monday in a sexual abuse case filed by a law student..
“He (Chinmayanand) was released at 5 pm after all necessary formalities were completed by his lawyer,” confirmed jail superintendent Rakesh Kumar. He said some family members of the former BJP MP had met him on Tuesday but the formalities required for his release could not be completed as the court order had not reached the jail authorities.
Chinmayanand , who was in jail since September 30, was released after furnishing a personal bond and furnishing two heavy sureties before the local court.
The former Union Minister was charged with abusing his position as a person in authority to “induce or seduce” a woman under his charge to have “sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape.” He refused to talk to media persons and went straight to his Ashram.
Chinmayanand was arrested in September last year after the 23-year-old woman accused him of sexual harassment and blackmail. The case is being investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed on the directions of the Supreme Court.
A few days after his arrest, the BJP had said that he was no longer with the party.
On November 6, the SIT had submitted the charge sheet in the case.
The woman was a student of the SS Law College run by Chinmayanand in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh. she was also arrested on charges of extortion before being granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in December last year.
