Delhi Baba Accused Of Molesting 17 Women Caught After Weeks Of Evading Arrest

The self-styled 'godman' accused of sexually harassing 17 women at an ashram in Delhi, has been arrested in Agra. Ostensibly the 'director' of a privately-run management institute, the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management in Delhi's posh Vasant Kunj area, Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, faces complaints ranging from using abusive language, sending lewd text messages to women, and forced physical contact.

Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati alias Partha Sarathy was arrested late night, at around 3:30 am, from Hotel First in Agra's Taj Ganj after being on the run for 50 days. He ran away on August 4, soon after the institute received a complaint from the Air Force headquarters.

According to a First Information Report (FIR), the management of the private institute received a letter from an alumnus accusing Chaitanyananda of sexually harassing students. 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 raised complaints by several students, accusing Baba 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.

In the current case, 17 women jointly lodged complaints at Defence Colony Police Station in early August, accusing Delhi Baba of harassing post-graduate management diploma students with scholarship in the economically weaker sections (EWS) category.

The complainants, students, have claimed that some wardens working at the management institute had introduced them to the Baba. He used to call the students to his room, and lure them with free foreign trips, revealed sleazy chats with the victims.  

Delhi Baba had secretly installed cameras in the women's hostel.

After the accusations surfaced earlier this week, the ashram administration expelled Chaitanyananda from his post. The ashram unit that the accused headed in Delhi is a branch of a prominent ashram in South India, the Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetha in Sringeri. The religious body called Chaitanyananda's actions "inappropriate"

Author Of 28 Books, 143 Research Papers, MBA, PhD

Odisha-born Chaitanyananda has allegedly authored 28 books featuring a foreword by Apple founder Steve Jobs and appreciation message from Ban Ki-Moon, former Secretary General of the United Nations.

Th text on the author profile on one of his books states that former US President Barack Obama referred to Chaitanyananda's book, Transforming Personality, during his election campaign "number of times" and the book was one of the best sellers in the European and North American markets in 2007.

The profile of Chaitanyananda on academic research-sharing platforms states that he holds an MBA and a PhD from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. It also claims that he had completed post-doctoral degrees and DLitt, and holds seven honorary DLitt degrees from Universities in India and abroad.