New Delhi/Agra (UP), Sep 28 (PTI) Self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati, who allegedly sexually harassed 17 women students at a private institute in Delhi, was arrested from Agra early Sunday after evading arrest for nearly two months, an official said.
The accused was abroad since July and returned to India on August 6. After the FIR was registered, multiple police teams were formed to nab him and a Look Out Circular (LOC) has also been issued to prevent him from fleeing the country.
A Delhi Police team traced Saraswati (62) to a hotel in Agra from where he was arrested at around 3.30 am. He had fled Delhi after the complaint submitted on August 4 alleged that he had sexually harassed the female students, specifically those of Economic Weaker Sections (EOW) quota.
While avoiding arrest, the accused allegedly kept changing places and hotels in Vrindavan, Mathura and Agra in Uttar Pradesh and used taxis to travel. To escape detection, he stayed in cheaper hotels, a police officer said.
Investigators said the accused and his associates falsely claimed that they had links to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), which enabled him to secure support and cooperation while evading the authorities.
Saraswati has been sent to five days police custody for questioning, during which he will be likely made to confront his three female aides in the institute who helped him by threatening the students and asking them to delete lewd messages sent by him.
It is also likely that he will be taken to the institute, a senior police officer said.
Police also recovered an iPad and three phones from his possession. One of the phones had access to the CCTV footage of the campus and the hostel through which he monitored the student's movement.
Fake visiting cards that showed him as a permanent ambassador associated with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and as a Commission Member and Indian Special Envoy De' Premiere of the BRICS, were seized from his possession, the officer added.
Investigators further found that the accused possessed two passports obtained through fraudulent means -- one under the name Swami Parth Sarathi and the other as Swami Chaitanyanand Saraswati.
The details of his parents and even his place of birth differed in both passports, with Darjeeling mentioned in one and Tamil Nadu in the other. His PAN card too carried inconsistent parental information, he added.
"Multiple teams were formed to nab Saraswati. Based on inputs, we tracked him to a hotel in Agra's Taj Ganj area and caught him from there around 3.30 am on Sunday," a senior police officer said, adding that he fled Delhi on August 4 when the FIR was registered.
According to the hotel staff in Agra, Saraswati checked into the hotel around 4 pm on September 27 under the name 'Partha Sarathi' and was assigned Room Number 101. He remained in the room throughout the night.
Earlier, police froze Rs 8 crore, linked to Saraswati, kept in multiple bank accounts and fixed deposits.
Saraswati, a former chairman of the management institute in southwest Delhi, allegedly forced female students to visit his quarters late at night and sent them inappropriate text messages at odd hours, the FIR said.
He allegedly kept track of the students' movements through his phone.
During the investigation, it was also revealed that the accused allegedly used different names and particulars to operate multiple bank accounts and withdrew more than Rs 50 lakh after the FIR was registered against him, the officer said.
He had allegedly submitted documents with varying particulars at the time of account opening.
Saraswati's arrest brought a wave of relief to the victims and their friends "The journey is only half done," a close friend of one of the victims, requesting anonymity, told PTI.
"At the same time, we know that justice is not just about an arrest. It is about seeing the case through till the very end . I feel the authorities must take strict action against him," the friend said, and added that he must be given a life sentence so that nobody can think of continuing such actions and preying on girls.
"Only then will others be deterred from committing such crimes," the friend added.