Self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati, booked for allegedly sexually harassing 17 female students of a private management institute in New Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, had made it almost mandatory for students to attend his yoga classes, enforcing a 98 per cent attendance rule. Students were allegedly compelled to attend sessions even on holidays and during their internship period, an Indian Air Force group captain, posted at the Directorate of Education, Air HQ, had claimed in his email to the institution.
The students initially approached the Indian Air Force officer, who then brought the matter to the attention of the college’s overseeing religious organisation, the Peetham, Hindustan Times reported.
A report by The Indian Express, which cited the IAF's email, said marks were deducted when students refused to accompany Chaitanyananda Saraswati on a personal trip abroad, and coercive action was taken against those who failed to respond to his WhatsApp messages.
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He would monitor the hostel and campus CCTV camera feeds, including cameras installed outside washrooms, on his phone, investigators said.
{{/usCountry}}He would monitor the hostel and campus CCTV camera feeds, including cameras installed outside washrooms, on his phone, investigators said.
{{/usCountry}}The Delhi Police has now launched a nationwide hunt for the self-styled monk, in his 60s, who was the chairman of Shri Sharada Institute of Indian Management (ShriSIIM), Vasant Kunj.
What IAF officer claimed in the email
The IAF officer said they had received complaints from women students alleging harassment, arbitrary decisions, and vindictive conduct by Chaitanyananda, including sending WhatsApp messages to female students at odd hours, The Indian Express reported.
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According to the email, during the 2023–25 admission cycle, Chaitanyananda, who is the chancellor and chairman of the institute, wrote to the Chief of the Air Staff offering a full fee waiver for girl wards of IAF’s Airmen and Non-Combatant (Enrolled) personnel. As a result, 11 wards of serving and retired personnel were admitted.
The group captain alleged that when students refused to accompany Chaitanyananda on a personal foreign trip, their marks were slashed. She added that the internship period of such students was arbitrarily extended, and they were forced to complete it abroad, despite financial constraints.
The email further accused him of “arbitrarily introducing three months of internship as a condition for appearing in final exams.” When students took up the matter with the administration, they were threatened with having their email IDs blocked instead of receiving a fair resolution.
Swami Chaitanyananda absconding
Chaitanyananda Saraswati, also known as Dr Parthasarthy, has been absconding since August, when the first complaint was filed. Police said he faces five FIRs covering allegations of molestation, cheating, forgery and fraud against his employer, the Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham.
According to an FIR accessed by HT, the Peetham began probing Saraswati in July on charges of fraud when they uncovered allegations of sexual misconduct. Peetham said they later received an email from a student of the 2023 batch alleging she was molested by the chairman. A second email was received from an air force group captain citing more similar complaints.
On August 2, the Peetham council held a two-hour virtual meeting with 30 female students, who alleged that Saraswati and his associates harassed and traumatised students, most of them from poor backgrounds.