New Delhi, Oct 2 — Police have arrested three women associates of self-styled godman Chaitanyanand Saraswati in connection with the alleged harassment and intimidation of female students at a private institute, officials said Thursday.
The accused were identified as Associate Dean Shweta Sharma, Executive Director Bhawna Kapil, and Senior Faculty Kajal. They face charges of abetment, criminal intimidation, and destruction of evidence, police said.
Investigators noted that during questioning, the three admitted to acting on instructions from 62-year-old Saraswati, who allegedly pressured students under the guise of enforcing discipline and punctuality. “They threatened victims and forced them to delete lewd messages sent by Saraswati from their phones,” a police officer said.
Saraswati was arrested from Agra on Sunday after evading police for several days. Earlier, officers had taken him to the Delhi campus of the institute for investigation and site identification in cases of alleged sexual harassment of at least 17 students.
In Almora, a police team inspected a guest house where Saraswati reportedly stayed with female students. A senior officer confirmed that details of his stay were corroborated during the visit. Digital evidence from phones showed him making inappropriate remarks on student photos shared in a yoga group chat.
Fresh searches of Saraswati’s premises on Wednesday led to the seizure of pornographic material, a sex toy, and several CDs, officials said. Investigators also retrieved explicit chat records from his phone, where he addressed women as “baby doll” and allegedly offered them to clients abroad. Police further recovered morphed images showing Saraswati with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and a British leader.
According to police, Saraswati allegedly lured women by promising jobs as flight attendants or positions at his institute, then exploited these contacts for personal advances. His office, investigators found, was decorated like a luxury suite to impress recruits. He reportedly showered women with costly gifts, including jewelry, while urging them to send yoga photos and videos.
A senior officer involved in the probe remarked, “Saraswati’s attitude reflects no guilt or remorse of any kind.”
