Uttar Pradesh: Seers’ meet to take call on Swami Chinmayanand’s expulsion

ALLAHABAD: Two days after former BJP MP Swami Chinmayanand was arrested in a case of sexual harassment, Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) president Narendra Giri said the apex body of monastic orders will soon take a call on excommunicating him from the Haridwar-based Mahanirvani Akhara.
Talking to TOI on Sunday, Narendra Giri said, “We have convened an emergency meeting in Haridwar on October 10 to take a decision on Chinmayanand’s association with the akhara.We would give him adequate time to present his case in the meeting, before taking a final decision.”
Former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand was arrested on Friday and sent to judicial custody after a law student accused him of allegedly raping her. The 23-year-old woman from Shahjahanpur studied in a college run by the swami’s trust.
Giri also said the charges levelled against the 72-year-old politician date back to 2016, so the Akhara Parishad would look into all aspects of the case, before taking a final call. “However, we would also take into account the police investigation into the case,” he said.
He also said the former cabinet minister’s actions are condemnable and tarnish the image of seers. “Chinmayanand may belong to the saint community, but he cannot be called a saint because of his misdeeds. The episode affects the entire ‘sant samaj’ and we need to take stringent action to send out a right message,” said Giri.
He has been booked under charges of stalking, criminal intimidation, wrongful confinement and sexual intercourse by a person in authority (Section 376 C).
Under section 376 (C) the accused faces a maximum punishment of 10 years if found guilty while under rape charges (section 376) the maximum punishment may extend to life term imprisonment.