NEW DELHI: A self-styled godman and former chief of a private management institute in Vasant Kunj, who has been booked for sexually harassing 17 students, allegedly tracked women through hostel CCTV feeds, including cameras installed outside washrooms and those across the campus, directly on his phone, police said.
Chaitanyananda Saraswati (62) alias Swami Parthasarathy, a ‘sanchalak’ at the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management (SRISIIM), is accused of using his BMW car valued at Rs 1.5 crore to take female students to Rishikesh under the pretext of “industrial visits.”
The car has been seized from the basement of the institute and police said its dashcam footage will be examined.
“Apart from the cameras installed, CCTV surveillance was also placed in the hostel lobby and outside the bathrooms. The hostel lodges around 75 female students from the economically weaker section (EWS) category. Saraswati regularly monitored the students and kept track of their movements through his phone,” a senior police officer said.
The accused is currently absconding. A lookout circular has been issued, and his last known location was traced to Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
According to the FIR, the institute’s governing council held a virtual meeting with over 30 women students on August 3 after receiving complaints of misconduct. The students, many from economically weaker backgrounds, alleged they were subjected to inappropriate messages via WhatsApp and SMS, coerced into accompanying Saraswati on foreign trips.
One of the survivors, who joined the institute in October 2024, said the harassment began shortly after she enrolled. She said Saraswati first interacted with the students on December 1, 2024, at the institute’s ground floor office. “That day, instead of motivating us, Swamiji demotivated us. He introduced a woman as an associate dean and his devotee,” she said.
In the FIR, the complainant said that she contacted Saraswati over WhatsApp to share her X-ray reports when she suffered a hairline fracture in her toe.
“Since then, Swamiji started sending me inappropriate messages at odd hours, saying things such as 'Baby, I love you', 'I adore you', 'You are looking beautiful today',” the victim alleged in the FIR.
In a statement, SRISIIM said all students are safe and under institutional care.