How an email from IAF group captain blew lid off 'godman' Chaitanyananda Saraswati's sexual harassment scandal

Self-styled godman Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati booked for sexually harassing over 17 students at a Delhi management institute, following multiple complaints.

Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, a self-styled godman and “chairman” of a private management institute in southwest Delhi's Vasant Kunj, has been booked for sexually harassing more than 17 students of the institute run by the Sri Sharada Peetham in Karnataka's Sringeri.

Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, also known as Dr Parthasarthy, was booked after students of Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management filed a complaint in August, (ANI)

Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, also known as Dr Parthasarthy, was booked after students of Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management filed a complaint in August, Hindustan Times reported. The suspect had been booked in similar cases in the past but had never been arrested, sources said.

Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Amit Goel said the college administrator filed a complaint on August 4 alleging that Saraswati was sexually harassing women students pursuing courses under economically weaker section scholarships. According to the FIR, lodged on the basis of a complaint of PA Murali, the administration found out about the cases of molestation while they were investigating Saraswati for fraud and cheating.

According to a report by The Indian Express, a letter from a former student and an email from a group captain in the Indian Air Force, sent to the institute just days apart, exposed the sexual harassment scandal Chaitanyananda Saraswati and three women staff members.

The accused headed the institute that offers postgraduate management diplomas and is affiliated with the Sri Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthanam Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham, an organisation with ashrams and educational institutions across nine states.

According to the FIR, a former student who graduated from the South Delhi institute earlier this year wrote to the university administration (letter dated July 28, received on July 31) alleging that Chaitanyananda had been molesting and sexually harassing women students.

After the ex-student's letter, the IAF group captain sent an email, saying they had received complaints from women students detailing the abuse. The institute confirmed this in its statement, the report said.

“On August 1, an email was received from an Officer of the rank of Group Captain… informing that they were in receipt of various complaints and representations from students alleging various arbitrary decisions and vindictive behaviour towards the students by Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, including sending WhatsApp messages to girl students at odd hours,” the newspaper reported, citing the statement.

Following the two letters, the institute’s governing council reportedly convened a virtual meeting with more than 30 women students on August 3.

Three women staff members also named in FIR

The FIR further named three women staff members, including the associate dean, accusing them of pressuring students to submit to Saraswati’s advances and ignoring complaints raised against him.

The FIR said most of the students of the institute are either from the EWS category or are children of armed forces officials.

Meanwhile, the Sri Sri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthanam Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham in Karnataka's Sringeri has issued a public statement distancing itself from him.

Police said they have also found in the institute's basement a Volvo car with a forged diplomatic number plate -- 39 UN 1 -- used by Saraswati.

"We have registered two different cases on August 25 -- one for sexual harassment and another for the forged number plate. Our teams are searching for him, and we are connecting all the important leads," the officer said.

The case was registered under sections 75(2) (sexual harassment), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Vasant Kunj North police station.

The accused has authored 28 books which carry forewords and reviews by prominent personalities.

In the 'about the author' section of an e-commerce site, Saraswati is described as an “eminent professor, noted author, orator, educationist, spiritual philosopher and philanthropist, and an eminent personality of management academia in India and abroad”.

This is not the first time Saraswati has faced such allegations. Police sources said a case of fraud and molestation was lodged against him at Defence Colony police station in 2009, while another molestation complaint was filed at Vasant Kunj police station in 2016.

During the inquiry, the statements of 32 female PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) students with EWS scholarships were recorded. Of these, 17 alleged that Saraswati used abusive language, sent obscene messages, and made unwanted physical advances and they recorded their statements in front of a magistrate.

Police have seized the Volvo car bearing the diplomatic number and lodged a second FIR on August 25. The accused has been evading arrest ever since, they said.

(With inputs from Jignasa Sinha in New Delhi)