Delhi ‘godman’ Chaitanyananda tricked police with UK number before arrest, boasted of calling CJI

Chaitanyananda Saraswati

Chaitanyananda Saraswati, the former director of the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management (SRISIIM) arrested for allegedly sexually harassing students, used a London-based WhatsApp number to mislead police during his 50 days on the run, The Times of India reported.

A senior police officer was quoted by TOI as saying that investigations revealed that the accused used London-based numbers to evade tracking while on the run. He was eventually traced through his IP address.

To shield himself, Chaitanyananda frequently invoked influential personalities. During investigation, he threatened police in the name of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and falsely claimed links with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The officer added he did not cooperate with the investigation and attempted to mislead interrogators. “He has shown no remorse for his actions and has been giving evasive replies,” the officer added.

During the investigation, the cops also found a CCTV monitoring app installed on his phone, which was used to access the institute’s security cameras remotely. They questioned three women, including the dean and two wardens.

"He has been continuously misleading us, but we confronted Chaitanyananda with evidence," the officer was quoted by TOI as saying.

An obscene photograph of a woman taken inside the accused's room was also found his phone. As per the report, the accused took some girls to Almora and allegedly engaged them in honey-trapping activities. In one instance, he allegedly instructed a girl to send him obscene photos with a boy, offering her money to trap the boy, the officer told TOI.