Self-styled ‘godman’ forced students to visit his quarters, harassed them with late-night texts: FIR

Female students of a management institute here were allegedly forced to visit its director, self-styled godman Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati’s quarters late at night, subjected to intimidation and even received inappropriate text messages from him at odd hours, an FIR filed against him read.

The FIR was registered after the administration of Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management (SRISIIM) lodged a complaint with a police alleging that during a virtual interaction with more than 30 female students, several of them revealed instances of sexual harassment, manipulation, and threats by Chaitanyananda, who was earlier known as Swami (Dr) Parthasarathy.

According to the FIR, officials said the students were threatened with suspension and withholding of degrees if they resisted his advances. Many of the students belonged to economically weaker sections, making them more vulnerable to pressure.

“The students who are from economically weaker sections were forced to visit Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati in his quarter late at night by three women staffers,” the FIR read.

The complainant further alleged that one female student was even “forced to change her name” and made to delete messages from her phone to erase evidence.

One of the victims, who joined the institute in October 2024, said that the harassment began shortly after she enrolled. She said Saraswati first interacted with the students on December 1, 2024, at the institute’s ground floor office.

“That day, instead of motivating us, Swamiji demotivated us. He introduced a woman as an associate dean and his devotee,” she said.

In the FIR, the complainant said that she contacted Saraswati over WhatsApp to share her X-ray reports when she suffered a hairline fracture in her toe.

“Since then, Swamiji started sending me inappropriate messages at odd hours, saying things such as “Baby, I love you,” “I adore you,” “You are looking beautiful today,” the victim alleged in the FIR.

When she ignored the messages, the accused allegedly pressured her further by involving faculty members. “Whenever I protested, Swamiji threatened me with action by the Superintendent of Police, Haldwani,” she said in the FIR.

“He told the associate dean, and then she would ask me to reply to his messages. Swamiji also instructed seniors to ensure that all girls responded to him, warning that those who didn’t would face manipulated attendance or unnecessary deduction of marks in exams,” she alleged.

She said in March 2025, Saraswati took some female students for a ride in his BMW car and continued to send inappropriate messages even past midnight. “At 3.30 am, he would message us with odd comments and often deleted those chats,” read her complaint.

The complainant also alleged that when she complained to the associate dean, instead of supporting her, she was asked to write a mail apologising to Saraswati. “After that, he forced me to send emails and threatened that I was not in the queue for passing. He openly said that he could fail me if I didn’t comply,” she said.

She also alleged that Saraswati misbehaved with her during Holi celebrations, by forcibly applying colour on her, calling her “Baby” repeatedly, and by touching her inappropriately during handshakes, the FIR read.

In June 2025, during an industrial visit to Rishikesh with 35 other girls, Saraswati allegedly called students to his room at odd hours. “He even blocked parents’ numbers when they tried to reach him. He harassed us mentally, physically, and emotionally,” she alleged in the FIR.

Police said a case has been registered at the Vasant Kunj North police station and investigation is underway. Multiple teams have been formed to nab the accused, and a lookout circular (LOC) has also been issued to prevent him from fleeing the country.

Police sources also said that he was trying to rent some of the portion of the institute property to some private owners and had taken huge sums from them, with which he was purchasing luxury cars.

“We are verifying all the facts that if he was trying to give some of the portion to some private owners on rent. Teams are already searching for him. There are possibilities that he is disguising to hide,” said sources.