‘Baby, I love you’: Delhi ashram student recounts harassment by Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati

Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati

A 21-year-old scholarship student from a South Delhi institute has come forward with detailed allegations of persistent sexual harassment by the head of the institute, Chaitanyananda Saraswati. According to the FIR, she 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, 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. If she did not respond, he would tag previous messages to force a reply.

When she reported this to the associate dean, she was told she had to respond since he was the head, and that similar situations had occurred with senior students.

The student alleged that resisting him led to notices about manipulated attendance and unnecessary mark deductions. In March 2025, during a trip to Rishikesh following a puja for Chaitanyananda’s new BMW, he allegedly made inappropriate remarks to her and other women students. On returning, three senior women staff instructed her to delete all chats with him.

“After Holi, he called me to his office… he started addressing me as ‘baby’… I told him not to call me that. He then took out his mobile phone and started recording a video, which he sent to me on WhatsApp with a comment saying ‘you are looking beautiful’,” she was quote by The Indian Express as saying.

During an industrial visit in June with 35 women students, she said he continued calling female students at odd hours. Objecting to him, she claimed, resulted in her being barred from taking her first and third semester exams. “All my original documents are submitted at the institute and, despite repeated requests, have not been returned. I have proof of all the allegations I am making,” she stated in the FIR.

The scandal came to light after the student’s letter to the institute and a separate email from a Group Captain in the Indian Air Force, confirming multiple complaints from students. The FIR also names three female staffers, including the associate dean, accusing them of pressuring students to comply with sexual advances and ignoring complaints. Statements of 32 women students were recorded, with most victims reportedly from the EWS category.

Beyond sexual harassment, Chaitanyananda faces other allegations, including using a Volvo car with a fake UN number plate and possessing nine other fake diplomatic plates. Police have issued a lookout circular against him, with raids ongoing in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh; his last known location was Agra.