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Promising a career as an airhostess, Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati allegedly initiated online chats with young aspirants and then sent them obscene messages, officers investigating harassment claims against him have found. Officers recovered photos of air hostesses and screenshots of display pictures of several young women from his phone, said police.
The self-styled godman, accused of sexually harassing at least 17 women studying in an educational institute of which he was the chancellor and director, was arrested on Sunday.
On Tuesday, two wardens of the institute and the associate dean were questioned along with Chaitanyananda regarding the allegations against him. All three women, officers added, have been mentioned in the FIR against the ‘godman’. They are sisters.
Officers said the accused showed no sign of remorse and has been constantly lying. “Among the large number of chats found from his phone, many have been deleted. In some of these conversations, he asked the young women to ‘seduce him’,” said an officer privy to the investigation.
The officer added, “He lured young women with the promise of making them air hostesses in airlines. He used this as the bait to talk to young women. He kept photos with several air hostesses on his phone. He had also saved screenshots of display pictures of many young women on his phone.”
The self-styled godman had allegedly designed his office as the room of a luxury suite, officers said, adding that he even gave away expensive gifts to lure young women. Earlier, an email sent by an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer had also alleged that he would ask female students practicing yoga to send him photos and videos.
Police said some photos of students on his phone appear to have been taken secretly.
“Even when he was absconding, Baba was chatting with young women. Chats related to job offers were also recovered from his phone,” the officer said.
While he was on the run, he was allegedly using a London number. A CCTV app was also found on Baba’s phone, said officers.
Police earlier said while on the run, Chaitanyananda stayed in around 13-15 budget hotels booked by his aides at different places. One of his aides was arrested on Monday from Uttarakhand.
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