Chaitanyananda, accused of molesting 17 Delhi institute students, held in Agra
Chaitanyananda Saraswati, former chairman of the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management Research in Vasant Kunj, was absconding since August
New Delhi: Police have arrested Chaitanyananda Saraswati, former chairman of the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management Research in Vasant Kunj, who had been absconding for nearly a month after multiple FIRs were lodged against him, including charges of molestation, cheating, and forgery.
Saraswati, who faces allegations ranging from mass molestation of female students to financial irregularities involving a trust worth Rs122 crore, was nabbed from Agra. “He was finally caught in Agra late on Saturday and is being brought to Delhi,” deputy commissioner of police (Southwest) Amit Goel said.
Police said that Saraswati was continuously changing his appearance and hideouts. More than five teams were working to trace him.
Saraswati has five cases lodged against him. The first case was filed at Defence Colony in 2009, while the second was a molestation case lodged by a student in Vasant Kunj in 2016. The three other FIRs were lodged this year on charges of molestation, cheating, forgery, etc.
The mass molestation case stems from a complaint filed on August 5 by P.A. Murali, administrator of the Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham, which owns the college. The six-page FIR includes statements from a 21-year-old student and references 32 other women who reportedly shared accounts of repeated harassment by the monk with the college council.
“The complainant alleged that the accused, who was heading the college, was sexually harassing female students pursuing PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) courses under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) scholarship. During enquiry with the students, statements of 32 female students were recorded, out of which 17 alleged that they received obscene WhatsApp messages, dealt with abusive language from the accused, and experienced unwanted physical contact by the accused. The students also alleged that the women, who were serving as faculty/administrators, pressured the girls to comply with the accused’s demands,” DCP Goel had told HT.
Based on the statements, police lodged an FIR on charges of sexual harassment, acts insulting the modesty of a woman, and criminal intimidation.
The religious organisation that heads the college (Peetham) had earlier issued a statement alleging that they had severed ties with the accused in light of the molestation complaints and for cheating the trust of crores.
Police also booked him for using nine fake diplomatic car number plates with “UN” markings. They had frozen more than Rs8 crore across 18 bank accounts and 28 fixed deposits belonging to him.
Police said that during the investigation, CCTV footage was analysed and several raids were conducted at the place of the incident as well as at the addresses of the accused. “NVRs/hard disks were collected from the SriSIIM institute and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). Statements of 16 victims were recorded before the magistrate at Patiala House Court,” the DCP said.
