Shahjahanpur case: Two men booked for demanding extortion from Chinmayanand

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Shahjahanpur case has booked two persons including Chairman of District Cooperative Bank for allegedly seeking extortion of Rs 1.25 crores from Chinmayanand by blackmailing in lieu of having "evidence related" to his case.

The accused have been identified as Chairman Cooperative Bank DPS Rathore and local leader Ajit Singh. IPC Section 385 (extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence) has been added to the charge-sheet, informed SIT.

"We worked on the two names that came to light during the investigation, DPS Rathore and Ajit Singh. They were also present in Dausa Rajasthan. Ms 'A' has given pen drives to Ajit saying that he should keep it safe. This advice was also rendered by the duo to Ms 'A' who told that if the evidence remained with her the police can recover them," said Naveen Arora, SIT Chief.

"Thereupon they formed copies of the evidence and indulged in a bargain with Chinmayanand. They asked for Rs 1.25 crore. IPC section 385, 506 and 201 have been added to the charge-sheet," he said.

While Chinmayanand's advocate Pooja Singh demanded that the accused should be arrested at earliest and non-bailable section should be slammed against them.

"Why they are booked under bailable offence? Why SIT is saving them? Why they have not been arrested," she said.

The law student was arrested on September 25 for allegedly demanding extortion money. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the rape case had said that the law student affirmed that she demanded Rs 5 crore as extortion money from Chinmayanand.

The law student had gone missing 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's team had, in turn, filed an extortion case. The student has told a local court that she was repeatedly raped by the BJP leader for over a year. She has also alleged that the accused recorded the incident on camera and blackmailed her.

( With inputs from ANI )