(Image source from: Ndtv.com)
Chaitanyananda Saraswati, a self-proclaimed spiritual leader, is accused of sexually harassing at least 17 women at a management school in Delhi. While he was trying to escape, he switched hotels 15 times in 50 days. As per police reports, Chaitanyananda chose low-cost hotels that did not have CCTV cameras to avoid being caught by the police. His accomplices selected the places he stayed, and the police are currently searching for these individuals. The 62-year-old man was finally captured at a hotel in Agra early Sunday morning and is now in the custody of law enforcement. Reports suggest that he is not cooperating with the investigators and is not answering their questions clearly. Chaitanyananda has been telling the police that he feels "nervous" and maintains that all the allegations against him are untrue. He also mentioned that he forgot the passwords to his phones and other electronic gadgets. As part of the investigation, three of his phones and an iPad have been sent to a forensic lab.
The troubling story of Chaitanyananda's harassment of female students from disadvantaged backgrounds became known after a former student wrote a letter to the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management-Research located in Vasant Kunj, Delhi. In her letter dated July 31, the ex-student accused Chaitanyananda of sexually harassing the students at the institute. The following day, the institute received an email from a high-ranking officer in the Air Force's Directorate of Education. This email highlighted complaints from several students who alleged that Chaitanyananda had threatened them and sent inappropriate messages. The intervention from the Air Force was prompted due to the fact that many students came from families of Air Force members.
Consequently, the institute reported the matter to the police and filed a complaint against Chaitanyananda. The police took statements from students, leading to the registration of a First Information Report (FIR). The institute also canceled Chaitanyananda's power of attorney and established a new governing council consisting of 11 members. At this point, Chaitanyananda had already left the institute. Before the allegations of sexual harassment surfaced, the institute had already reported him for fraud, forgery, cheating, and breaking trust. Among the alarming claims against Chaitanyananda are accusations that he had CCTV cameras set up in the women's hostel to monitor them and pressured them to accompany him on trips abroad. The students also alleged that the associate dean of the institute and others compelled them to indulge Chaitanyananda's advances. Three staff members of the institute have also been named as co-defendants in the case against the self-proclaimed godman.
