The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the alleged rape of a law student by BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand, on Sunday examined three male friends of the victim, besides some employees of her college.

The victim’s friends who were examined, included the one who was with her when she was located in Rajasthan after having gone missing in August. He and the two others were also present inside the car in which the girl had made her video recording, narrating her ordeal.

The team called them to the Police Lines here and recorded their statements, official sources said.

The SIT also examined the principals of the girl’s alma mater — a law college and a postgraduate college — both located on the campus of Mumukshu Ashram of the former Union Minister.

Recording statements

The SIT also examined two other college employees, who had been summoned on Saturday but had failed to turn up for recording their statements.

The SIT, headed by Inspector General Naveen Arora, was set up by the Uttar Pradesh government on September 3 on a Supreme Court directive after the girl went missing on August 24 after levelling allegations that the BJP leader had raped and physically exploited her for one year. The Shahjahanpur police had on August 27 lodged an FIR against Mr. Chinmayanand.

The girl’s father, meanwhile, termed the leakage of the video footage given to the SIT by his daughter a “conspiracy” and said he would request the Supreme Court to order a probe into it.

“From where have the screenshots and videos come on the social media? The screenshots have been posted on various social media platforms. These were given to the SIT by my daughter. This is a conspiracy,” he said.

I will take up the matter with the Supreme Court and seek a probe into it, he said.

The law student had on Saturday given a pen drive containing 43 videos to the SIT to support her allegations after the sleuths asked her to submit whatever evidence she had against the former Union minister.