The Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management in Delhi has been plunged into a storm of controversy after 17 female students, mostly from economically weaker sections (EWS), came forward with harrowing accounts of sexual harassment by the institute’s former head, Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati also known as Dr. Parthasarathy. The accused, in his sixties, remains on the run, even as Delhi Police intensify their search across multiple states.
But the scandal has taken an even more explosive turn after the parent organisation the Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri issued a rare and scathing notice, declaring that Chaitanyananda is “not a monk of the order of Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri, or of the lineage of the revered Saint Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya.” The Matha also announced that legal action was being initiated against him, branding him a fake monk whose activities were “illegal, inappropriate, and detrimental” to the institute’s reputation.
This unprecedented denunciation has shifted the scandal from being just a campus crime story to a larger question of how religious titles and institutional power were abused to shield a serial offender for years.
The first complaint, filed on August 4, 2025, by institute administrator PA Murali at the Vasant Kunj North police station, laid bare a deeply disturbing picture. Chaitanyananda allegedly used his position of authority to harass and exploit female students, most of whom were admitted under the EWS scholarship program.
According to police, his modus operandi was chillingly systematic:
- Sending obscene WhatsApp messages late at night.
- Using abusive and intimidating language in person.
- Making unwanted physical contact under the pretext of guidance.
- Threatening academic failure if students refused his demands.
“One student was told outright that she would fail her exams unless she obeyed ‘Swami’. Others were promised foreign opportunities, career help, and financial security in exchange for ‘private meetings’,” a police investigator revealed.
WhatsApp messages recovered by police showed a disturbing pattern of coercion: “Come to my room… I will take you abroad… You won’t have to pay anything… But if you don’t listen, you will fail…”
What has shocked investigators is not just the accused’s conduct but also the alleged complicity of faculty and staff. Several victims have testified that female wardens and administrators actively pressured them to “cooperate” with Chaitanyananda.
Police have credible evidence suggesting that staff members deleted incriminating WhatsApp chats and discouraged students from filing complaints. At least three wardens have been summoned for questioning, and their phones have been sent for forensic analysis.
“This wasn’t just one man’s abuse of power. There was an entire enabling structure that shielded him, silenced victims, and tried to erase digital evidence,” a senior police officer said.
The Police also discovered a Volvo car in the institute’s basement fitted with a forged diplomatic number plate (39 UN 1). A second FIR was lodged on August 25 after nine additional fake plates were seized, implicating the accused in forgery and cheating. “He lived like a spiritual head but operated like a fraudster,” one investigator remarked.
This is not Saraswati’s first brush with the law. Police records show at least five prior cases:
- 2009 (Defence Colony): A case of fraud and molestation.
- 2016 (Vasant Kunj): A molestation case involving another student from the institute, still under trial.
- 2025: Three separate cases the current molestation FIR, the fake number plate case, and a fraud case involving the institute’s trustees.
Despite this, Saraswati was never arrested. Officers privately admit that earlier cases fizzled out because of “verification challenges” and because complainants were either pressured into silence or withdrew. “This pattern of impunity emboldened him. Institutions failed, law enforcement failed, and victims were abandoned,” said a legal observer following the case.
Perhaps the most decisive development has been the response of the Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri one of the most respected Shankaracharya institutions in Bharat. In a strongly worded notice, the Matha made it clear that Chaitanyananda had no association with the Peetham or with the spiritual lineage of Adi Shankaracharya.
The statement read: “Legal action is being taken against Saraswati. He is not a monk of the order of Sri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri, or of the lineage of the revered Saint Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya. His actions are illegal, inappropriate, and detrimental to the interests of the institution.”
Despite a lookout circular issued at airports nationwide, Saraswati remains at large. Police believe he may be hiding in Uttar Pradesh or Uttarakhand, where he often visited ashrams and other spiritual leaders. Raids are ongoing across Delhi, Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan, and UP.
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