Swami Chaitanyanand Saraswati introduced herself as a spiritual leader, guru and scholar in South Delhi. Their students claim that they were the worst dreams for them. According to police complaints, he threatened the girl students at the Sri Sharda Indian Institute of Management (Shri SIIM) at Vasant Kunj. Meanwhile, more than 17 girl students have accused them of sexual harassment, threats and financial fraud.
The FIR states that Chaitanyanand had installed CCTV cameras around the hostel in the name of security. He used the footage on his phone and questioned the students about their bathing habits and personal relationships. The victims revealed that he asked him if he had sex with his boyfriend and whether he used condoms. At night, he used to send messages like baby, I love you and I love you on WhatsApp.
Public insult to students
Many women said that they insulted them in front of classmates. A student of Haryana was declared characterless due to being a lover. Another student told that she saw a girl coming out of her office crying in torn clothes. Some students had to give ₹ 15,000 to get their original documents back.
Ritual exploitation during festivals
On the day of Holi, students were forced to stand in queue and bow before them. He used to color their hair and cheeks, while the faculty members were instructed not to put color on them.
Phone calls and forced trips at night
The victims alleged that he used to call him in his private quarters late at night and pressurize him to join domestic and foreign trips. A woman said that after repeated pressure, she narrowly saved her to take Mathura.
Educational blackmail and forced recovery
Many students left studies for fear of harassment. The protesters faced punishment such as rigging, numerals cuts or stopping degrees. At least one student had to pay money to issue her educational records.
Employees involvement and repression
The FIR also features three women employees including Associate Dean, who allegedly forced the students to accept the demands of Chaitanyanand, destroy the evidence and even change the name.
Illegal monitoring and threats
In 2016, a complainant alleged that Chaitanyanand seized his phone, wasolated him in the hostel and kept an eye on him through landline calls and cameras. He allegedly threatened that if he did not listen to him, he would use his impressive contacts against him.
Luxury cars and fake plates
Investigators seized a BMW car of ₹ 1.5 crore, which was used to take students to Rishikesh on the pretext of allegedly roaming. A Volvo car with a fake diplomatic plate named “39 Un 1” was also found in the basement of the institute.
Also read: Supreme Court imposed a penalty of Rs 2 lakh on Uttarakhand Election Commission, permission was sought to allow people registered in voter list to contest panchayat elections in more than one place