Chaitanyananda installed ‘loyalists’ to rule institute, kept final authority

New Delhi: Even as self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati, who has been accused of sexually harassing 17 students at a private management institute, remains on the run, more stories are surfacing against an “inescapable web” he created to intimidate students, and ensure that he had the final say at the institute’s functioning.

A student from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota filed a complaint in March 2025, alleging that she was asked to pay an additional amount, despite paying Rs 60,000 as donation, a family friend of the woman stated.

Chaitanyananda (62), a former chairman of the management institute in southwest Delhi, had built a network of loyalists inside the institute by appointing them to posts they did not even qualify for, he said on condition of anonymity.

“She was told by Chaitanyananda that either she should pay another Rs 60,000, work without salary at the institute for a year, or leave the college,” he added. An FIR was registered on August 4 against Chaitanyananda after the administration of the private management institute said that during a virtual meeting with over 30 female students, several of them narrated instances of sexual harassment, manipulation and threats by him.

He allegedly forced female students to visit his quarters late at night and sent them inappropriate text messages.

The family friend of the complainant further said the husband and sister of a woman, who worked as an associate dean and allegedly helped Chaitanyananda by intimidating students and deleting incriminating messages, were also given positions at the institute. Several professors too were reportedly ex-students who lacked the qualifications required for faculty roles, he alleged. “He created such a web that no one could escape it.”

He added that when the woman decided to leave the institute, other female students expressed helplessness, saying they had no way out. He further claimed that there were indications that female students were harassed, intimidated and threatened by the former chairman and his close aides. “In one instance, a victim who had suffered a hairline fracture and shared her medical reports with Chaitanyananda told her that she began receiving lewd and inappropriate text messages from him,” he said.

A senior police officer said Chaitanyananda placed loyalists across the institute, creating a “kingdom.” Complaints surfaced via an IAF Group Captain’s email, which the institute formally reported.

Investigators claimed that Chaitanyananda withdrew over Rs 50 lakh after an FIR was registered. He allegedly operated multiple bank accounts under different names using varied documents. The court noted he had created a fraudulent trust, ‘Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management Research Foundation Trust’, and diverted revenues and funds from institute property and a specific plot for his own use, misappropriating money intended for the institute and the associated peetham. with agency inputs