Chinmayanand case: SIT takes BJP leader's laptop, pen drive

BJP leader D.P.S. Rathore, who has been questioned for a marathon 12 hours by the Special Investigation Team in an extortion case involving a law student who accused former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand of sexual harassment, has handed over to the SIT his laptop and a pen drive believed to contain video clips related to the incident.

Rathore was questioned on Sunday for over half a day regarding his suspected role in the extortion bid case lodged by Chinmayanand.

Rathore is the chairman of the district cooperative bank and was present in Dausa, Rajasthan, when the Shahjahanpur crime branch team found the 23-year-old student near Mehandipur Balaji Temple on August 30 after she went missing on August 24.

The law student, in her complaint, had mentioned that one Ajit Singh had taken the pen drive from her, which contained the evidence to prove her claims of exploitation.

Rathore, who is the younger brother of BJP state vice-president J.P.S. Rathore, told reporters later: "I was trying to support the administration in a positive way, but it seems that the SIT had certain misunderstanding about some facts.

"I had gone to Dausa on the request of a few senior cops to provide support in the recovery of the missing woman."

D.P.S. Rathore said at that time he was accompanied by another BJP leader, Ajit Singh, who is the brother in-law of Vikram, one of the accused in the extortion case.

Earlier on Saturday, the SIT team had summoned D.P. Singh, former MLA from Dadraul constituency, for questioning. A few SIT officials also went to the district jail and met the accused lodged there to verify a few facts.

The SIT has been rigorously investigating both the cases and trying to collect evidence, especially the spy-camera fitted spectacles, which the girl had used to record evidence of sexual exploitation.

The team recovered a bag containing some books from a drain behind the SS College where the law student studied.