Self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati held in Agra on sexual harassment charges

Self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati, accused of sexually harassing 17 female students at a private institute in Delhi, has been arrested from a hotel in Agra, police confirmed on Sunday.

According to Delhi Police officials, the 62-year-old was tracked down to a hotel in the Taj Ganj area, where he had checked in under an assumed identity.

“Multiple teams were formed to nab Saraswati. Based on inputs, we tracked him to a hotel in Agra’s Taj Ganj area and caught him from there around 3.30 am on Sunday,” a senior police officer said. The officer added that Saraswati had fled the capital on 4 August, the day an FIR was registered against him.

Checked in under alias ‘Partha Sarathi’

Staff at the Agra hotel reported that the accused had registered under the name ‘Partha Sarathi’ at approximately 4 pm on 27 September. He was given Room 101 and is believed to have remained inside throughout the night.

Senior officials from Agra Police declined to comment on the arrest when contacted.

Delhi Police had earlier frozen approximately Rs 8 crore allegedly linked to Saraswati, spread across several bank accounts and fixed deposits.

Accused of using multiple identities and accounts

According to the FIR, Saraswati, formerly chairman of a management institute in southwest Delhi, coerced female students into visiting his quarters late at night and sent them inappropriate messages at odd hours.

He also allegedly monitored their whereabouts using his phone.

Investigators said that Saraswati operated multiple bank accounts under different names and withdrew more than Rs 50 lakh after the FIR had been filed. He is accused of using falsified documents with varying personal details to open these accounts.

During the arrest, police also recovered fake visiting cards claiming his association with international organisations including the United Nations and BRICS.

With inputs from PTI