Luxury gifts, honeytraps, flight job promises: The elaborate tactics of Delhi 'godman' Chaitanyanand

Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati

The Delhi ‘godman’ accused of sexually harassing multiple students at a private institute in Delhi secretly photographed women, spied on them via a live CCTV feed and used a trio of female aides to intimidate his victims, according to reports citing police investigators.

Chaitanyanand Saraswati, who was arrested in Agra on Sunday after days on the run, faces allegations from 17 students. A forensic examination of his mobile phone has uncovered a pattern of predatory behaviour, as reported by TOI.

Police cited by TOI said that that Saraswati’s office was meticulously arranged to mimic a luxury suite, a setting used to impress women visiting him.

He allegedly lured them with promises of employment as flight stewards or roles at his institute, using these pretexts to initiate contact. The conversations would then quickly turn inappropriate.

“He lured women with promises of jobs as flight stewards or positions at his institute and used these pretexts to initiate conversations,” an officer involved in the investigation said. Evidence gathered by police indicates he gave expensive gifts, including jewellery and asked the women to share photos and videos of themselves doing yoga.

The investigation took a more sinister turn with the discovery of a CCTV monitoring application on his phone. This tool allegedly granted him live access to camera feeds, allowing him to track female students across the campus and in the hostel. Furthermore, his phone contained secret photographs of both students and female staff members.

Saraswati’s lewd chats continued until just days before his arrest. In one exchange, he asked a woman to seduce him, sent hugging and kissing emojis and even made an online payment to her, a police officer revealed.

Police have also identified three sisters, who served as the institute’s Dean and wardens, as key aides. They are accused of threatening victims and compelling them to delete the seer’s explicit messages, thereby attempting to obstruct evidence.

When his capture became imminent, Saraswati employed sophisticated methods to evade authorities. “Investigations have revealed that he used London-based numbers to evade tracking while on the run. He was eventually traced through his IP address,” a senior police officer told TOI.

Upon his arrest, he reportedly invoked the names of high-profile personalities, threatening police in the name of the Chief Justice of India and falsely claiming connections to the Prime Minister’s Office.

According to investigators, his attempts to mislead continued during interrogation. “He has shown no remorse for his actions and has been giving evasive replies,” the officer stated, adding that Saraswati only responded when confronted directly with documentary and digital proof.

The alleged misconduct extended beyond the institute’s premises. Police disclosed that Saraswati took some girls to Almora, where he allegedly engaged them in ‘honey-trapping’ activities.

In one specific instance, he is accused of instructing a girl to send him obscene photographs with a boy, offering her money to trap the individual.

On Monday, the accused was taken back to the institute campus to help authorities identify the specific locations where the harassment of his victims allegedly took place, marking a significant step in the ongoing probe into the disturbing case.