A fresh controversy has erupted in Delhi after a 62-year-old self-styled godman, Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, also known as Swami Parthasarathy, was accused of molesting and harassing female students at a private management institute in Vasant Kunj. Several of the survivors are scholarship students from economically weaker sections.
In her complaint, a 21-year-old student said the godman began sending her inappropriate messages soon after they met last year. “Baby, I love you. I adore you, you are looking beautiful today,” one of his texts read, according to the FIR. She alleged that he would send her such messages at odd hours and insisted on replies. When she informed the associate dean, she was told to respond instead of being supported.
The FIR states that Saraswati used his position as chairman of the institute to target female students, many of whom were threatened with suspension or losing their degrees if they refused his advances. Students were allegedly forced to accompany him on foreign trips and pressured to visit his room at night. “He would lure students with promises of trips abroad but those who resisted were threatened,” one of the survivors told investigators.
Police said 32 students gave their statements during the inquiry, and 17 of them detailed instances of harassment, abusive language, obscene messages and unwanted physical contact. The FIR has also named the associate dean, Shweta, and two women wardens, accusing them of helping Saraswati by pressuring students and making them delete evidence.
The police have booked Saraswati under sections related to sexual harassment and criminal intimidation, and a lookout circular has been issued to stop him from fleeing the country. He has been on the run since August, last traced to Agra. Officers confirmed that raids have been carried out at multiple addresses linked to him and that CCTV hard disks and other evidence have been sent for forensic examination. “We are making every effort to arrest him. He has been changing his location frequently to avoid being caught,” a senior police officer said.
The National Commission for Women has also stepped in, taking suo motu cognisance of the matter.
This is not the first time Saraswati has faced such charges. Police sources said cases of molestation and fraud were filed against him in 2009 and again in 2016. Despite this, he continued to live at the institute for over a decade.
