LUCKNOW — The missing student whose father alleged she was sexually harassed by BJP’s Chinmayanand has been located in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh Police said on Friday.
“In Shahjahanpur episode the girl has been located by Shahjahanpur police in Rajasthan along with her friend. Necessary legal action is being taken,” UP Police said on its official Twitter handle.
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The woman, a student at a college run by Chinmayanand’s trust, was missing since August 24, a day after she posted a video on social media, alleging that the former Union minister was harassing and threatening to kill her.
She did not name Chinmayanand in the video but referred to “a senior leader of the sant community”.
The politician, who faced similar accusations in 2011 and was booked for raping a woman who stayed at his ashram, disputed the charge.
The Supreme Court on Thursday took cognisance on its own over reports of the woman going missing.
The issue, which was mentioned before the apex court on Wednesday by a group of lawyers urging it to take cognisance in the matter, will come up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Justices R Banumathi and AS Bopanna.
The Shahjahanpur police had on Tuesday lodged an FIR against Chinmayanand after the student went missing following her allegation in a video clip that he had been harassing her.
Her father had filed a complaint with police accusing Chinmayanand of sexually harassing her, a charge refuted by the BJP leader’s lawyer who claimed it was a “conspiracy” to blackmail him.
The woman’s father alleged that she has gone missing at the behest of the 72-year-old BJP leader, who heads Mumukshu ashram. She is a post-graduate student in one of the colleges run by the ashram.
The group of lawyers, in a letter addressed to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, had requested him to take suo motu action based on media reports that the student has gone missing for the past three days.