15 Hotels In 50 Days, Focus On Avoiding CCTVs: Delhi Baba's Days On The Run

Chaitanyananda Saraswati, the self-styled godman accused of sexually harassing at least 17 women at a Delhi-based management institute, changed 15 hotels in 50 days during the time he was on the run. According to police sources, Chaitanyananda would stay in cheap hotels with no CCTV cameras as he tried to evade the cops. His aides would choose his hotels, the sources said, adding that police are looking for these associates.

The 62-year-old was eventually arrested at a hotel in Agra early on Sunday and is now in police custody. Sources said he is not cooperating with the investigators and is not responding to questions properly. Chaitanyanand, the sources said, had been telling the cops that he was "feeling anxious" and that all allegations against him were baseless. He also claimed that he had forgotten the passwords to his phones and other digital devices. Three of his phones and an iPad have been sent to the forensic lab as part of the probe.

The sinister tale of Chaitanyananda's harassment of women students from underprivileged families came to light after an alumnus shot off a letter to the management of Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management-Research in Delhi's Vasant Kunj. In her letter, the former student alleged that Chaitanyananda had been sexually harassing students at the institute. The institute received this letter on July 31.

The next day, the institute received an email from a Group Captain rank officer in the Directorate of Education in the Air Force. This email flagged complaints by several students, who accused Chaitanyananda of threatening them and sending offensive messages. The Air Force directorate intervened because many of the students at the institute came from families of Air Force personnel.

The institute then approached the police and filed a complaint against Chaitanyananda. The police recorded the statements of students, and an FIR was registered. The institute revoked Chaitanyananda's power of attorney and formed a new governing council of 11 members. By this time, Chaitanyananda had fled the institute. 

In fact, before the sexual harassment allegations came to the fore, the institute had filed a complaint against Chaitanyananda, accusing him of fraud, forgery, cheating, and criminal breach of trust. 

Among the shocking allegations against Chaitanyananda is the students' charge that he got CCTV cameras installed in the ladies' hostel to keep an eye on them, and that he forced them to join him on foreign trips. The students also accused the institute's associate dean and some others of forcing students to entertain Chaitanyananda's overtures. Three staff members of the institute have been named as co-accused in the case against the self-styled godman.