Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, a self-proclaimed spiritual leader, is facing fresh allegations of sexual abuse after a case was filed at a private institute in Delhi. Police said this is not the first time he has come under the scanner.

Earlier known as Swami Parthasarathy, alias Swami Dr Parthasarathy, he had been living at the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management for nearly 12 years. With the latest FIR, Saraswati now faces five cases, including charges of sexual harassment, fraud, and forgery.

Previous cases against him

Records show that in 2009, a case of fraud and harassment was registered against him at the Defence Colony police station. In 2016, a student from the same institute accused him of molestation, leading to his arrest by the Delhi Police. He was later released on bail but continued to work at the institute while the case was still pending.

This year, three more cases have been filed against him:

  • One in which 17 girls accused him of sexual harassment.

  • A case involving the use of a fake number plate.

  • Another related to cheating a monastic trust.

According to police sources, Saraswati often targeted girls from economically weaker families. During questioning, it was revealed that he allegedly sent messages such as “Come to my room... I’ll take you abroad, no cost”. He also threatened students with remarks like “…if you don’t obey me, I will fail you” if they refused.

Survivors said he forced them to delete incriminating chats from their phones. Investigators are trying to recover the deleted data and have sent the devices for forensic analysis.

Police said Saraswati has been constantly shifting his location and rarely uses his mobile phone to avoid tracking. After the FIR was filed, he applied for anticipatory bail, but later withdrew the plea following a strong stand by police.

Authorities have also questioned three wardens of the institute after complaints that some female faculty and staff pressured students to follow Saraswati’s demands. “They were served notices and have appeared for questioning. Further action will depend on the evidence and the examination of the accused,” a senior officer said.

During the probe, police recovered nine fake number plates, six marked with UN symbols and three labelled “United Nations Asia Pacific”. “We suspect he used these number plates to project influence and create the impression he had diplomatic status,” the officer said.

Late at night, the institute released a statement confirming that it had received several complaints from a senior official of the Directorate of Education. These complaints mentioned harassment of students, along with “arbitrary decisions” and “vindictive behaviour” by Saraswati.