Chaitanyananda, the former chairman of the institute where the alleged offences took place, was produced before Judicial Magistrate Animesh Kumar of Patiala House Court on completion of his 14-day judicial custody.
Before the Court, he alleged that prison officials had denied him permission to wear his monk’s robes despite multiple applications, and had also refused to provide the restricted diet he said monks are entitled to.
Taking note of the submissions, the Court directed Tihar authorities to file a detailed status report and listed the matter for November 18.
Earlier, on November 7, Chaitanyananda withdrew his bail plea before the sessions court. His counsel informed Additional Sessions Judge Deepti Devesh that the application was being withdrawn as the defence intended to reassess the nature of the allegations once the chargesheet was filed. His earlier plea had claimed that complaints were “tutored,” asserting that the accusations arose because he enforced strict discipline in the institute.
Earlier, the police informed the Court that statements of 16 victims have been recorded before the magistrate, and mobile phones of five victims have been seized, with the remaining 11 to be collected. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) examination reports are awaited. The investigating officer, ACP Ved Prakash, also stated that obscene photos and related comments were recovered, with screenshots serving as evidence.