As the investigation into the alleged molestation of several female students by Delhi-based self-styled ‘godman’ Chaitanyananda Saraswati deepens, a leaked WhatsApp chat hinting at his dealings with a “Dubai Sheikh” has surfaced.
In the message exchange, purportedly between Chaitanyananda and a female student, the self-styled spiritual leader is seen asking about a potential sex partner for a “Dubai sheikh.”
While the context of the “Dubai sheikh” reference remains unclear, investigators believe it may be relevant to understanding Chaitanyananda’s conduct towards the complainants.
The leak comes just hours after Chaitanyananda and his women aides were brought to his institution by the police for on-site investigation.
The move is part of the Police’s deeper probe into the alleged sexual harassment and molestation allegations levelled against Chaitanyananda Saraswati.
The visit, reportedly aimed to help investigators reconstruct crime events linked to the molestation complaint and gather potential evidence from the scene, ANI reported.
The case against Swami Chaitanyananda, which made national headlines, involves serious accusations of sexual misconduct, and the involvement of his close women associates has raised further questions about the nature of operations at the religious institution.
The Police, so far, have remained tight-lipped about the findings of the investigation, but investigators earlier stated that Saraswati was not cooperating in the probe and had tried to mislead interrogators on several occasions.
Secret student pics, ‘lewd’ chats revealed during probe
During the probe, Chaitanyananda Saraswati was found to have secretly clicked photos of women and staff, engaged in lewd chats, and spied on students through a CCTV monitoring app, police said on Tuesday.
Saraswati, who was arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra on Sunday after being on the run for several days, is also being confronted with his three female aides, sisters, who allegedly threatened victims and forced them to delete his lewd messages.
One of them served as the Dean of the institute, and the other two were wardens, police said.
The discovery of his phone also revealed a disturbing pattern of predatory behaviour. It had secretly taken photos of students and staff, as well as several photos with female flight stewards and screenshots of display pictures of women, the officer said.
