Police have also filed a case of extortion against Chinmayanand.
Hours after the arrest of BJP leader Chinmayanand on Friday, the woman who has accused him of rape said the police are trying to weaken the case against him. "This has played out exactly as I feared... there is no justice," she told reporters, referring to the charge under which the former union minister has been arrested.
The 72-year-old politician has been charged with the watered-down section of "misusing authority for sexual intercourse" or "sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape", which carries a punishment of five to 10 years in jail and a fine.
"I already told the SIT (Special Investigation Team) in detail how I was raped and yet Section 376 (Rape) has not been applied... I do not know what the planning is behind Chinmayanand's arrest. I am not happy with the SIT's actions," the 23-year-old law student said.
The police have also filed a case against her for extortion, based on a complaint filed by Chinmayanand's team. Three men known to the woman have been arrested and the police say they are looking for more proof to act further against her.
"I have nothing to with the extortion case. They are saying this to save Chinmayanand," she said.
The woman, however, praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. "Yogiji is a good person, and all this was possible only due to him," she said, referring to the arrest. "But I feel sad that the name of Swami Chinmayanand is linked with Yogi Adityanath," she said.
The police based their charges against Chinmayanand on videos handed over by the woman, who claims she secretly filmed him using a camera in her spectacles.
The woman has alleged that Chinmayanand sexually exploited her for a year after helping her with admission into his college. He allegedly filmed her taking a bath and blackmailed her with the video and raped her. The woman says she was often brought to his room at gunpoint and was forced to give Chinmayanand massages.