What Do the Chinmayanand and Unnao Rape Cases Have in Common?

Is the UP Police setting a bad example of itself with the mishandling of the Chinmayanand and Unnao rape cases?

A young law student in Uttar Pradesh accused three time BJP MP and former Union Minister of Home Affairs Chinmayanand of rape and exploitation.

(Photo: The Quint)

A young law student in Uttar Pradesh put a lot at stake when she put up a video on social media on 23 August, accusing three time BJP MP and former Union Minister of Home Affairs Chinmayanand of rape and exploitation.

And then what happens? The case gets murkier by the day, the Supreme Court has to step in. In fact, it's not until 20 days after a formal complaint is filed that the SIT finally questions the accused on 12 September.

What's happening in the case? What are the institutional oversights that’s compromising the case? What does the survivor and her family member have to say? What happened when the SIT probed Chinmayanand? Tune in to The Big Story for more!

This not the only controversial case to come out of Uttar Pradesh. What do the rape allegation cases against Chinmayanand and Kuldeep Singh Sengar have in common? Some obvious ones like the accused are both powerful BJP leaders and that both these cases are from Uttar Pradesh.

Then there are some questionable similarities. For instance, the survivors of both the cases claim to have been intimidated by the accused. Moreover, the conduct of the UP police in both cases have been really controversial.

Since the handling of the Unnao rape case raised eyebrows you'd think UP police would learn better the second time, right? Apparently not.