NEW DELHI: A self-styled godman and former chairman of a private management institute in southwest Delhi, Chaitanyananda Saraswati (62), also known as Swami Parthasarathy, has been booked for sexually harassing 17 students and allegedly tracking women through hostel CCTV feeds, police said on Thursday. Delhi Police Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) South West, Aishwarya Singh, confirmed to ANI that the investigation is ongoing, with police making efforts to apprehend the accused. A separate FIR was registered for the forged diplomatic number plate.Delhi Police are examining the roles of wardens and others, collecting digital evidence, and searching premises. Statements of the victims have been recorded before a judicial magistrate.Here are top developments

‘Godman’ allegedly monitors women through cameras, including outside bathrooms

Saraswati regularly monitored the students and kept track of their movements through his phone, according to a senior police officer said. Saraswati is accused of using his BMW car valued at Rs 1.5 crore to take female students to Rishikesh under the pretext of “industrial visits”. The car was seized from the basement of the institute, and police said its dashcam footage will be examined. Apart from the cameras installed in the institute, CCTV surveillance was also placed in the hostel lobby and outside the bathrooms. The hostel lodges around 75 female students from the economically weaker section (EWS) category. Investigators stated that the accused tampered with the institute’s digital video recorder (DVR) system, leading to the destruction of crucial CCTV evidence. However, police believe the dashcam of the BMW may provide some material evidence.

Saraswati turns one part of office into ‘torture chamber’; Police denies

News agency sources claimed that Saraswati converted his ground-floor office in the institute into a “torture chamber” where female scholars, particularly those from the EWS category, were allegedly exploited. However, DCP (Southwest) Amit Goel clarified that no such chamber was found during the searches. Police indicated that the investigation also revealed Saraswati tightened his control over the institute by allegedly subletting the properties of Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthanam Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham, which runs it, to private companies for financial gains. “He reportedly used the proceeds to purchase high-end luxury vehicles,” an officer said.

Car, forged diplomatic number, seized

So far, two cars have been traced to Saraswati—a Volvo carrying a forged diplomatic number plate, ’39 UN 1′, registered to a fake address, and a BMW he purchased in March. “After buying the BMW, he performed a pooja along with the institute’s female students, drove them around and played songs while making inappropriate comments. He also used the same car to take them to Rishikesh for an industrial visit,” the FIR said. According to police, the accused’s last active location was traced to Mumbai, based on inputs of foreign travel and return. He is suspected to have travelled abroad recently, deliberately avoiding electronic devices and disguising his appearance to evade arrest, police said.

Delhi Police issues lookout circular

Delhi Police has issued a lookout circular against self-styled godman, an official said on Wednesday. “A lookout circular (LOC) has been issued against him to prevent any attempt to flee the country,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel said. The officer further said that multiple police teams are conducting raids across Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand in connection with the case.

Delhi ‘godman’ on the run; 5 FIRs

The case against Saraswati has been registered under sections 75(2) (sexual harassment), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Vasant Kunj North police station. He is currently on the run. With the latest FIR, he now faces five cases, including those related to sexual harassment, fraud and forgery.In 2009, he was booked in a case of fraud and harassment at Defence Colony police station. In 2016, a student from the institute filed a molestation complaint against him at Vasant Kunj police station, leading to his arrest by Delhi Police.He was chargesheeted and later released on bail, but continued to work at the institute despite the pending case. This year, three more cases have been registered against him — one in which 17 girls alleged sexual harassment, another involving the use of a fake number plate, and a complaint filed for allegedly cheating the math (monastic trust).

‘Baby, I love you. I adore you, you are looking beautiful today’: New WhatsApp message reveal

According to the FIR, the student first interacted with Chaitanyananda last year and immediately felt uncomfortable.“He initially looked at me weirdly and demotivated me,” she said.After sustaining an injury, the student said she was asked to share her medical reports.Soon after, Chaitanyananda began sending inappropriate WhatsApp messages at odd hours, including comments such as, “Baby, I love you. I adore you, you are looking beautiful today,” and remarks about her hair.Investigators said he allegedly sent messages such as, “Come to my room. I’ll take you abroad, no cost,” and threatened, “if you don’t obey me, I will fail you” if they refused to comply.