Chaitanyanand Saraswati confronted with aides;chats, photos found

Chaitanyanand Saraswati, accused of sexually harassing 17 students at a private institute in the national capital, was on Tuesday confronted with two of his female aides who allegedly threatened victims and coerced them into deleting his lewd messages, police said.Investigators revealed that several chats with women were recovered from the 62-year-old’s phone, along with multiple photographs of him with air hostesses and screenshots of women’s display pictures. Police alleged that Saraswati attempted to lure women with false promises and abused his position while serving as chairperson of a centrally approved private institute.
A senior officer said that Saraswati has been uncooperative during questioning and continues to mislead investigators. “He has shown no remorse for his actions and has been giving evasive replies,” the officer stated, adding that he responds reluctantly only when confronted with documents and digital evidence.The two female associates, employed in different positions at the institute, are also being interrogated. They are suspected of playing a role in intimidating students and covering up Saraswati’s misconduct, police said.On Monday, police took Saraswati to the institute campus where he allegedly summoned his victims, in order to identify locations relevant to the investigation.Saraswati was arrested from a hotel in Agra on Sunday after evading authorities for several days. Police said he has repeatedly lied during interrogation, even when shown incriminating evidence.