In a fresh development in the case, Chaitanyanand Saraswati, a self-styled godman accused of sexually harassing 17 female students at a private institute here, was taken to its campus on Monday for pointing out locations where he allegedly used to call his victims, police said.
"... The accused was taken to the institute to point out the places, particularly his office and room where he stayed and used to call female students to meet him. A search was conducted to collect incriminating evidence, if any," a police officer said.He was asked about CCTVs on the campus and hostels, and cameras outside hostel bathrooms as well, whose footage was directly accessible on one of the mobile phones recovered from him, he said.
An associate of Saraswati, 38-year-old Hari Singh Kopkoti of Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, was also arrested for allegedly threatening the father of one of the victims on September 14.Saraswati, 62, was arrested early Sunday from a hotel in Agra and brought to the campus where he had earlier served as chairman. He has been remanded to 5 day Police custody.
Meanwhile, Kopkoti, who earns his livelihood through municipal work, admitted during interrogation that he had made the call at Saraswati's instructions using his own phone, and asked the complainant's father to withdraw the complaint, the officer said.
He told police that he had come in contact with Saraswati last year, when he visited Delhi with an acquaintance, who was already known to the accused.
The mobile phone used for the call was seized, and Kopkoti was bound down under sections 232 (Threatening any person to give false evidence) and 351(2) (Criminal intimidation) and released, police said. He is expected to be confronted with his three female aides working in different positions at the AICTE-approved Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management, the institute at the heart of the matter.The three women are accused of threatening students and forcing them to delete lewd messages sent by him.Police said Saraswati had been abroad since July, returning to India on August 6.After he was booked, a Lookout Circular (LOC) was issued to prevent him from leaving the country.
While avoiding arrest, he reportedly shuttled between Vrindavan, Mathura, and Agra, using taxis and staying in budget hotels.
He and his aides allegedly claimed links to the Prime Minister’s Office to secure cooperation while evading authorities. The Sringeri Sharada Peetham, which administers the institute through a governing council, had earlier ordered a comprehensive audit of SRISIIM by independent experts. The audit, it claimed, flagged several irregularities and illegalities, including fraud, forgery, cheating, and criminal breach of trust allegedly involving Saraswati and his associates.
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