Uttar Pradesh police have claimed that the student whose father alleged she was sexually harassed by BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand has been located in Rajasthan.
'... The girl has been located by Shahjahanpur police in Rajasthan along with her friend. Necessary legal action is being taken,' Uttar Pradesh police said on its Twitter handle.
The woman, a student at a college run by Chinmayanand's trust, was missing since August 24, a day after she posted a video on social media, alleging that the former Union minister was harassing and threatening to kill her.
She did not name Chinmayanand in the video but referred to 'a senior leader of the sant community'.
The politician, who faced similar accusations in 2011 and was booked for raping a woman who stayed at his ashram, has denied the charge.
Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday, in a breach of law, released posters naming the missing student. The posters identified the woman which is disallowed as she had alleged sexual assault.
The FIR registered by the police does not mention sexual assault and the case is filed under IPC sections related to abduction with the purpose of murder and criminal intimidation.
In his first complaint to the police, however, the woman's father had alleged she and some other girls were sexually harassed by Chinmayanand.
Apart from the woman's name, the poster carried her photograph, address and the name and phone number of her father. It also carries the mobile numbers of the inspector and the circle officer.
In Shahajahanpur, city superintendent of police Dinesh Tripathi said: 'A number of teams of the district police have been formed to find the girl, but she is untraceable.'
He said this was the normal process followed in cases because posters are issued to trace 'kidnapped persons'.
Written with PTI reports