At least 15 women studying at an educational institute run by an ashram in southwest Delhi have accused its manager of molesting them, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. The accused, Chaitanyananda Saraswati, is absconding.
The students, studying under the economically weaker section quota, had filed the complaint a month ago.
The Delhi Police said on Wednesday that searches were being carried out to arrest Saraswati, alias Parth Sarthy.
The matter came to light in August when one of the administrators of the institute complained to the police, the newspaper reported.
The ashram said that Saraswati had “engaged in activities that are illegal, inappropriate” and claimed that it has “severed all ties with him”, according to the newspaper.
A separate case has been registered against him for allegedly using a vehicle with a fake diplomatic number plate.
Based on the complaint, the police questioned several students and found that about 17 of them had said Saraswati allegedly used abusive language, sent allegedly obscene messages and made unwanted physical contact on a regular basis, The Indian Express reported.
“The victims further alleged that women who were serving as faculty and administrators abetted and pressured them to comply with Chaitanyananda’s demands,” the newspaper quoted Deputy Commissioner of Police Amit Goel as saying.
Saraswati has been booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to sexual harassment, intention to insult modesty of women and criminal intimidation, The Indian Express reported.
For allegedly using the fake vehicle number plate, the police registered a case under sections pertaining to misuse of a property mark to defraud, cheating, forgery and creating false documents.
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