‘Baby I love you… you look beautiful’: Woman recounts how Delhi institute chief Chaitanyananda harassed her on text messages

This was followed by an email from the Group Captain, saying they had received complaints from women students detailing the abuse. The institute confirmed this in its statement.

“On August 1, an email was received from an Officer of the rank of Group Captain… informing that they were in receipt of various complaints and representations from students alleging various arbitrary decisions and vindictive behaviour towards the students by Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati, including sending WhatsApp messages to girl students at odd hours,” the statement said.

It was after these two letters that the governing council of the institute held a virtual conference with over 30 women students on August 3.

The FIR also named three women staffers, one of them the associate dean of the institute, alleging that they forced the students to give in to sexual overtures and turned a blind eye to complaints against him.

According to the FIR, statements of 32 women students were recorded. It outlined that most of the victims belong to the EWS category. “Due to their financial condition as well as family circumstances, they have no option except to meet various unwanted demands raised by Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati. It is also noteworthy to mention here that besides financial conditions, original educational certificates of these victim girls were kept on hold by Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati and his associates, due to which the completion of education as well as future career of these girls was at stake. There is every possibility that few of the victims may be physically exploited during the period and they are not coming forward due to pressure from their family and society, and also their career prospects,” the FIR stated.

It also noted that most of the students of the institute are either from the EWS category or are children of armed forces officials.

One of them, a 21-year old who was a scholarship student, said she first interacted with Chaitanyananda last year. “He was the chancellor… His office was on the ground floor of the building where our classes were held. In my first meeting, he looked at me weirdly and even demotivated me… I sustained an injury… and my senior asked me to share my medical records with him… After I sent my reports, he started sending me inappropriate messages at odd hours. ‘Baby, I love you. I adore you, you are looking beautiful today’… complimenting the kind of hair I have. If I did not respond to these messages, then he would tag the message sent earlier and force me to reply. I informed the associate dean about it, who said I had to reply since he was the Head. She even said the situation has been previously explained to some senior students,” the victim alleged.

She said when she resisted, notices were issued to her regarding manipulated attendance. “Marks were unnecessarily deducted from my exam papers. In March 2025, Swami got a new BMW car and some of my classmates and I were called for a puja and taken to Rishikesh. On the way back, he kept on passing inappropriate remarks at me and other women,” the victim alleged.

She added that when they returned, three senior women teachers asked her to delete her chats with Chaitanyananda. “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 alleged.

In June, she claimed 35 women, including her, along with Chaitanyananda and other teachers went for an industrial visit to Rishikesh. They were staying at an ashram close to the ghats. “He would call girls at odd hours,” the victim alleged.

She alleged that when she objected, she was not allowed to take the first and third semester exams.

“All my original (education) documents are submitted at the institute and despite requests have not been given. I have proof of all the allegations that I am making,” she said in the FIR.

The list of allegations and cases against Chaitanyananda, however, are not limited to sexual harassment. A separate case has been lodged against Chaitanyananda for allegedly using a Volvo car with a fake blue United Nations number plate. Another nine fake diplomatic number plates were recovered from the institute.

Police sources said several cases had been registered against him in the past. Among them is a case of forgery and molestation that was registered against him in 2009. Delhi Police, meanwhile, has issued a lookout circular (LOC) against Chaitanyananda, and raids are ongoing in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to locate him. A police officer said Chaitanyananda’s last known location was Agra.

The red Volvo car allegedly being used by Chaitanyananda had a fake “diplomatic” number plate that said “39 UN 1”. “The Volvo car was found parked in the basement of the institute. On verification, it was found that the car with a forged diplomatic number plate, is used by the accused,” DCP Goel said.

Inputs from Pragynesh