Delhi ‘godman’ Chaitanyananda Saraswati, accused of molesting 17 students, arrested in Agra

A Delhi Court sent Chaitanyananda Saraswati, a self-proclaimed godman who was accused of sexually harassing 17 girl students at a private institute, to five-day police custody on Sunday, Delhi Police said. He was arrested early in the morning at a hotel in Agra.

Delhi Police said that acting on a tip-off, the team reached Agra and arrested Chaitanyananda. He was produced before the judge in the afternoon. During the arguments, the prosecution alleged that Saraswati had molested several women and sought sexual favours from them, and that the testimonies of the victims had corroborated the allegations.
According to the FIR against Chaitanyananda, the former chairman of a management institute in southwest Delhi, allegedly pressured female students to visit his quarters late at night, and also used to send them inappropriate text messages at unusual hours.

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Chaitanyananda is also accused of embezzling Rs 20 crore, falsely claiming membership in a national advisory council, and using photoshopped images to show himself with prominent politicians.

Following the investigation into this case, police froze more than 18 bank accounts and 28 fixed deposits linked to a trust established by Chaitanyananda, which collectively held around Rs 8 crore.

Amid the probe, it was also found that Saraswati had allegedly operated a bank account under two different names by submitting documents with conflicting details during account opening and transfers.

Police added that approximately Rs 50–55 lakh had been withdrawn since the FIR was registered.

Earlier in August, Chaitanyananda was booked in a separate case for allegedly sexually harassing 19 women at the Sri Sharda Institute of Indian Management (SRIISM) in Vasant Kunj.

He served as the chancellor of the institute, which is operated by the Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthanam Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham.