Chinmayanand finally admits to accusations before SIT. All rape survivors in UP need closure
The law has finally caught up with Swami Chinmayanand whose wrongdoings had cost the nation its collective conscience as the girl he sexually exploited and treated like bonded labour cried for justice. This allowed the accused enough time to flex his political muscles, charge her instead with character assassination and eliminate traces of evidence. Till a Special Investigative Team (SIT) was set up by the Uttar Pradesh Government at the behest of the Supreme Court, this case seemed headed in the direction of unsolved files. But now the BJP politician seems to have accepted all the allegations levelled against him and is even “ashamed,” whatever that means anymore. However, the former Union Minister hasn’t been booked on charges of rape though the victim had publicly alleged so. Unlike the Unnao rape case, where another BJP leader was involved and which came to light only when the girl threatened self-immolation, the action against Chinmayanand, an influential leader who also claims to be a godman, hasn’t been delayed. So the pressure on justice delivery is clearly building up given the repetitive nature of abuse by those in power.
Of course, this is not the end. While Chinmayanand has been sent to judicial custody, it remains to be seen if he sticks to his “confession” in a court of law or does a U-turn. Considering he has earlier accused the girl of blackmail, when she went public with her evidence through social media, he could turn hostile. At the heart of such cases lies the failure of the police, the Government and law enforcement agencies, which have consistently failed to respect the criticality of a woman, braving backlash and threats, lodging an FIR. They, perhaps, get more anxious about brushing the case under the carpet than ensuring a fair and speedy trial. And if it involves somebody powerful, then the justice system in the country is almost programmed to be on the back gear, more interested in covering up the tracks of political masters. It is precisely because entitlement is encoded in our legal system that politicians like Chinmayanand and Unnao rape accused Kuldeep Sengar get away. Worse, the senior BJP leadership stayed away from taking a stand against these fallen men till matters came to a head. This silence is often read as tacit endorsement of the crime, one that has cost the Yogi Adityanath government its image. With Chinmayanand often flaunting his closeness to the Chief Minister and the Unnao rape survivor threatening self-immolation in front of his residence, his reign is under a shadow. In the end, the crime spiral has always defined UP and till that changes, old perceptions won’t.
