New Delhi: A close aide of self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati has been arrested by Delhi Police in connection with a threatening phone call made to the father of one of the victims in the ongoing sexual harassment case.
According to police, the aide, identified as Hari Singh Kopkoti, 38, a resident of Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand, was taken into custody after police traced a call received by the complainant's father on September 14. The call warned the family against pursuing the case.
Police officials said that Kopkoti, during interrogation, admitted he had known Chaitanyananda for a year and that it was the self-styled godman who directed him to intimidate the complainant's family. His mobile phone has been seized as part of the evidence. Following questioning, he was released on bond, but remains under investigation.
As part of the continuing investigation, police also took the main accused, 62-year-old Chaitanyananda Saraswati, to the Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management (SRISIIM) in Delhi on Monday to recreate the sequence of events. Chaitanyananda, who was arrested on Sunday from a hotel in Agra after evading authorities for weeks, earlier served as the institute's chairman.
An officer present during the exercise said Chaitanyananda was shown his office and questioned about the placement of CCTV cameras across the campus, including in student hostels. Investigators noted the presence of cameras outside hostel bathrooms, with live feeds accessible from one of the mobile phones recovered from him.
On Sunday, a local court remanded him to five days of police custody.
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