3 female staffers who aided molestation-accused ‘godman’ Chaitanyananda arrested

Police identified the staff members as Shweta Sharma, a former associate dean, Bhawana Kapil, a former executive director, and Kajal Sharma, senior faculty.

Three female staff members of a management institute in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj were arrested on Thursday, two days after they were questioned along with the 62-year-old former chairman, identified as Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, who is accused of molesting over 17 female students.

Delhi Police with the accused, Chaitanyananda Saraswati, at Vasant Kunj police station in New Delhi(HT_PRINT)

Police identified the staff members as Shweta Sharma, a former associate dean, Bhawana Kapil, a former executive director, and Kajal Sharma, senior faculty. The three are also siblings. They are accused of aiding Saraswati and harassing college students. They were interrogated jointly with Saraswati on Tuesday.

Amit Goel, deputy commissioner of police (southwest), said, “The three women have been arrested for their role in abetment, threatening and destruction of evidence. They have admitted to the allegations... to have followed the directions of accused Saraswati. During interrogation of these three sisters, it was also established that they used to pressurise the girls students, on the pretext of discipline, punctuality.”

Saraswati, a self proclaimed monk, was arrested early on Sunday from Agra after an almost two-month chase and sent to a five-day police custody. He is accused in three cases this year, which include mass molestation case, cheating and forgery.

An FIR was lodged against him on August 5 after a group of present and former female students wrote to an IAF officer at the Directorate of Education.

The IAF officer then approached the religious organisation which runs the college—Sri Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamthanam Dakshinamnya Sri Sharada (also called Peetham).

Investigators said that nearly all the complainants had named the three staff members. They allegedly threatened the students to give into his demands and would delete the lewd messages Saraswati sent to the female students from the students’ phones.