Former Union minister Chinmayanand, who was admitted in a hospital in Lucknow after his arrest in a rape case, was discharged on Monday evening. The 73-year-old's bail plea was denied earlier on Monday. Close to midnight, he was taken to the Shahjahanpur jail.
The former minister was admitted in hospital just three days after his arrest on September 20, with complaints of high blood pressure and chest pain. Later, he said he was suffering severe weakness and urinary problems. The doctors had said he would be put under observation.
On Monday, after he spent 8 days in the cardiology ward of Lucknow's SGPGI hospital, the doctors said his condition was normal.
Chinmayanand has been accused of rape and year-long sexual exploitation by a 23-year-old law student. The woman - a student at a law college he runs -- said he had filmed her in the bath and started using the video to exploit her.
The 73-year-old former Union Minister has been charged under a law that deals with rape but a sub-section has been applied in his case, which deals with "misusing authority for sexual intercourse".
The woman too was arrested after Chinmayanand's aides accused her of extorting Rs 5 crore from him. She is currently in jail. The Special Investigation team looking into the case said she had confessed to the crime.
The woman's appeal for bail was also denied by the same court on Monday. They both will now have to appeal at a higher court.
The case made headlines after the woman went missing on August 24 after posting her allegations on Facebook without naming Chinmayanand.
When the UP police tracked her down after a week, the Supreme Court heard her allegations and ordered an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team.
But the politician, who runs several ashrams and educational institutions, was arrested only after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said women's safety was a priority for his government.
The police said they based their charges against him on the videos given by the woman, who claims she secretly filmed him using a camera in her spectacles.
Today, the Congress tried to hold a rally in solidarity with the law student but was stopped by the state police. The party said around 80 of its leaders and workers, including senior leader Jitin Prasada, was taken into preventive custody.
The party's senior leader Priyanka Gandhi has alleged that the entire administration has been "protecting" Chinmayanand, who was a minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government.
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