Delhi molestation case: Chaitanyanand Saraswati withdraws bail plea, police to file charge sheet soon

NEW DELHI: Chaitanyanand Saraswati, accused of molesting 17 women associated with a private institute in Delhi, on Friday withdrew his bail plea from the Patiala House Court after Delhi Police informed the court that a charge sheet in the case would be filed shortly.The matter was listed before the district judge of Patiala House Court. Following the police submission, Saraswati’s counsel withdrew the bail application. The accused remains in judicial custody, news agency ANI reported.According to investigators, Saraswati, who was arrested in Agra after being on the run for several days, allegedly engaged in a pattern of predatory behaviour, secretly photographing women and staff members, conducting lewd online chats, and spying on female students through a CCTV monitoring application.

“Chats from just days before his arrest showed him soliciting women. In one exchange, he asked a woman to seduce him and sent hugging and kissing emojis. He also made an online payment for the act,” a senior police officer said.Police said Saraswati allegedly lured women with false promises of employment, including offers of jobs as flight attendants or positions at his institute. His office, designed to resemble a luxury suite, was used to host women, to whom he gifted expensive jewellery and requested photographs and videos of them performing yoga.

Investigators also found that he tracked female students through a surveillance app installed on his phone. To evade capture after the case came to light, he reportedly used London-based phone numbers and was eventually traced through his IP address.Police have also named three female aides — including the institute’s dean and two wardens — for allegedly threatening victims and coercing them into deleting inappropriate messages.The probe further revealed Saraswati’s involvement in honey-trapping activities. In one instance, he allegedly took a woman to Almora and instructed her to send obscene photographs with a man in exchange for money.During interrogation, police said, Saraswati repeatedly lied and tried to mislead investigators, invoking the names of senior officials, including the Chief Justice of India, and falsely claiming to have links with the Prime Minister’s Office.Police sources confirmed that the charge sheet in the case is expected to be filed soon.(With inputs from agency)