Delhi institute head arrested in Agra for harassment and funds misuse

A self-styled spiritual leader who ran a private management institute in southwest Delhi was arrested in Agra late on Sunday and remanded to five days of police custody as investigators probe allegations that he sexually harassed and intimidated students and misappropriated funds, officials said. Chaitanyananda Saraswati, 62, also known by the name Parthasarathy, was taken into custody after being on the run since an FIR was filed in early August listing complaints from students and an Indian Air Force officer, police said.

According to police and institute officials, 17 women have formally accused Chaitanyananda of sending lewd messages, making unwanted physical advances and coercing students, many of whom were enrolled under an economically weaker sections quota, to visit his quarters late at night. Complainants have alleged that he threatened to withhold degrees or academic documents to force compliance, confiscated mobile phones and original certificates and pressured students to delete incriminating messages. Investigators said WhatsApp chats recovered from roughly 50 students contain material spanning as long as 16 years.

The institute run by a religious body revoked...