
Swami Chaitanyanand Saraswati (Photo: X)
The leader of a reputed ashram in the posh Vasant Kunj area in south Delhi is on the run because over 15 women charge him with molestation. Sri Sringeri Math administration has discharged Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati in the position of director and a Look-Out Notice has been issued by the police to ensure that the man does not leave the country.
It is not the first occasion when Chaitanyananda Saraswati, whose real name was Swami Parthasarathy, was charged with criminal offenses. There was a fraud and molestation case filed in one of the Defence Colonies in 2009, and in 2016, a woman in the Vasant Kunj lodged a molestation complaint.
Chaitanyananda Saraswati, who is originally from Odisha, had spent 12 years living in the ashram, according to the police. He was both the operator and caretaker.
The ashram responded in a statement to the allegations by saying, Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, formerly Swami Parthasarathy, had participated in activities that were illegal, inappropriate… Consequently, the Peeth has broken all communication with him… (It) also has filed grievances with the concerned authorities concerning unlawful activities carried out by Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati.
The complainants had been seeking management (PGDM) programs on EWS scholarships in the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management, a position that the accused held as a director.
In the investigation, 32 statements of women students were noted, as a result of which 17 of them claimed to be abused by the accused with the use of obscene WhatsApp and text messages, unwanted physical contacts.
The woman also alleged that Chaitanyananda Saraswat had blackmailed and threatened them and also stated that three of the women faculty and administrators had conspired and pressured them to give in to the demands of the accused.
He is reported to have called girls to his room at late hours threatening to lower their marks or fail them unless they complied and some of them were enticed with promises of foreign trips. The victims claimed that he also sent obscene WhatsApp and text messages and exercised unreasonable pressure, which created the atmosphere of fear.
Victims revealed several messages which Chaitanyanand allegedly sent them, such as: Come to my room, I will take you abroad on a trip, You will not have to pay anything and I will make you fail.
Delhi Police also accuse the three female aides of Baba; wardens and staff of the institute to be actively involved in his crimes being covered up. They are said to have threatened students and deleted incriminating messages in their phones which were later submitted to undergo forensic analysis.
There is also CCTV footage of the ashram which depicts tampering and has been forwarded to the forensic team. A car owned by the Baba has been taken by the police, which had several diplomatic number plates registered in various names.
As the three women were interrogated by the police, some sources have indicated that their involvement in the case entirely will not be known until the Swami is apprehended.
The phones of the complainants have also been forensically audited where the accused has made the women delete the messages.
In the meantime, CCTV footage was viewed, and a number of raids were carried out at both the location of the incident and at the locations of premises of the accused individual.
Hard disks and a video recorder have been confiscated by police and forwarded to be analyzed by forensic investigators. A car with a modified UN number plate that a fake number plate was parked in the basement of Sri Sharda institute of Indian management, during the investigation.
When Swami Chaitanyanand Saraswati was verified, he was found to be the driver of the car.
Some other counterfeit diplomatic number plates have also been recovered by the police and an investigation is going on to determine how the accused had obtained them.
It has also been indicated by the police that even though his last known whereabouts was trailed to Agra, the accused has been relocating continously. The use of his mobile phone is also very minimal.
Delhi Police forces are also raiding in Bihar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand to trace the Swami.
With 13 years on the line, Ashish Kumar Singh loves everything when it comes to movies, music, travel and pop culture. Formerly employed at ANI, Pinkvilla, India Today and HT, Ashish has interviewed some of the top celebrities of India, including Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan, among others. Breaking news excites him and deadlines are what he chases. Interviewing comes naturally to him. Hit him up at ashish.kumar02singh@gmail.com.
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