Chinmayanand case: SIT reaches Shahjahanpur

A special investigation team (SIT), which was constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on the orders of the Supreme Court, has arrived in Shahjahanpur to probe the harassment charges levelled by a woman law student against BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand.

The SIT, headed by Inspector General Naveen Arora, arrived on Thursday night and will start its investigation after looking into the details of the probe conducted by the local police.

“The investigations will start once we go through the evidences collected by the local police as well as the documents sent to the Supreme Court,” Arora said.

The officer said the team had seen the papers related to the ‘rangdari’ (extortion) case filed by Chinmayanand’s counsel and the case filed by the father of the law student, and deliberated on them. “We have included legal and surveillance experts in the team and, if required, a forensic expert will also be called,” Arora said, adding that police officers having “upright and clean image” are part of the team.

He added that the report would be submitted to the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope after the inquiry.

The SIT was formed on Tuesday, a day after the SC directed the state government to do so to investigate the charges levelled by the woman, who is a postgraduate student at a college run by Chinmayanand’s trust.