Chinmayanand case: In which both parties are culprits and victims

Call it the power of the ubiquitousness of technology. The rape and blackmail of the Shahjahanpur Law student in which former Union minister and senior BJP leader Chinmayanand is under arrest, is turning out to be a unique case of 'reverse stings' in which both the complainant as well as the accused are turning out to be culprits as well as victims.

While the 23-year-old girl, who studies in a college run by Chinmayanand, accuses the self-proclaimed godman of having got a video made of her while she was taking bath in the college hostel to blackmail and rape her several times, it turns out that she used the very same tricks to get even with him.

For this reverse sting, the woman bought spectacles fitted with a secret camera and made recordings of their intimate moments, including those where he was getting a massage in a state of undress. The girl has handed over to the Special Investigation Team some 40 of such reverse stings videos.

Unaware of these videos, it was Chinmayanand who first went to the police thus bringing the case to light. After the victim narrated her plight on the social media on August 23, it was her college administration that filed a police complaint on August 25 claiming that its chairman (Chinmayanand) had on August 22 received a WhatsApp message demanding Rs 5 crore in exchange of some videos which could tarnish his image.

The BJP leader also gave to the police a video of the girl and her two cousins -- Sanjay Singh and Vikram alias Brajesh and friend Sachin Sengar alias Sonu -- (a reverse-reverse sting of sorts) in which they were discussing the extortion call made to him.

The three men were arrested hours after Chinmayanand was taken into custody on Friday and sent to jail. "The girl has been actively involved in the extortion case and we are keeping an eye on her. We will take action at appropriate time," an SIT official said.