Delhi ‘Godman’ Accused of Molesting 17 Students Arrested From Agra Hotel
Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, the self-styled godman and former director of a Delhi management institute accused of sexually harassing at least 17 female students, was arrested by Delhi Police from a hotel in Agra in the early hours of Sunday . The 62-year-old, also known as Parthasarathy, had been on the run for nearly two months after multiple FIRs were filed against him for sexual harassment and massive financial fraud .
Saraswati was traced to the Hotel First in Agra’s Taj Ganj area based on a tip-off and was apprehended at around 3:30 am . His arrest comes just days after a Delhi court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in a cheating case, noting that his custodial interrogation was necessary to uncover the “entire chain of fraud” . He is accused of a wide range of offenses, from sending lewd “Baby, I love you” messages to female students and spying on them with hidden cameras, to siphoning off crores of rupees from the institute’s trust .
The case came to light after 17 women students, many of whom were studying under the EWS scholarship at the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management-Research in Vasant Kunj, jointly lodged a complaint against him . They alleged that Saraswati would force them to visit his quarters late at night, make unwanted physical advances, and threaten to ruin their careers by withholding their academic documents if they resisted .
Investigations have also revealed a web of financial irregularities. Saraswati allegedly created a fraudulent parallel trust to divert funds and properties belonging to the original trust, which is affiliated with the prominent Sri Sharada Peetham in Sringeri . After the initial FIR was filed, he reportedly withdrew over Rs 50 lakh and absconded . Police have frozen over Rs 8 crore across 18 bank accounts and 28 fixed deposits linked to him . Following the allegations, the Sringeri Math administration severed all ties with Saraswati and filed its own complaint regarding the misappropriation of funds
