Court dismisses anticipatory bail plea of 'godman' Chaitanyananda Saraswati in forgery case
New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati in an alleged cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy case against him.
Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur said, "Investigation of the present case is at a nascent stage and the investigating officer (IO) requires custodial interrogation of the applicant/ accused to establish the entire chain of fraud, cheating, conspiracy and misappropriation of funds. As per the version of IO, the applicant/ accused is not available at his given address, and his mobile phone is switched off."
"Considering the seriousness of allegations and gravity of offence, this Court is not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the applicant/ accused. Therefore, the present bail application stands dismissed," the judge added.
The FIR in the case has been registered for the offences of cheating by personation, cheating by dishonestly inducing a person to deliver property or consent to its retention, forgery, forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine, criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.
The self-styled godman has also been booked for allegedly sexually harassing 17 female students of a private management institute here.
Police said their investigation has found that Chaitanyananda allegedly tightened his control over the institute by sub-letting the properties of Jagadguru Shankaracharya Mahasamsthanam Dakshinamnaya Sri Sharada Peetham, which runs it, to private companies for financial gains.
"He reportedly used the proceeds to purchase high-end luxury vehicles," an officer said.
So far, two cars have been traced to Saraswati -- a Volvo with a forged diplomatic number plate '39 UN 1' registered with a fake address and a BMW he purchased in March.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
