Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati on Monday promised full cooperation to investigators, two days after a special court in Prayagraj ordered registration of a case against the Seer for allegedly sexually assaulting two boys, even as police intensified their investigation in the case and started collecting evidence.
Saraswati, who asserted that false accusations had been made against him, said: “We are ready to cooperate fully so that the stigma against me is resolved quickly. I will not go anywhere. I will not run away.” “Arrest is out of the question, but I am prepared for it if it happens. The arrest may be for the purpose of preserving evidence… We are not running away.”
Saraswati, who was in the news for his confrontation with Magh Mela organizers in Prayagraj and accused the administration of preventing him from bathing at Mauni Amavasya, said the police have no proof as all the allegations are false. Saraswati added that CCTV cameras were installed at the Magh Mela, which concluded this month, and would have captured everything.
The comments came as investigators visited the Magh Mela area in Prayagraj, where the alleged abuse took place last month and during Mahakumbh 2025. Assistant Commissioner of Police Vimal Kishore Mishra, who is leading the investigators, said they were proceeding with utmost caution due to the involvement of minors. “The boys’ medical examination is scheduled to be conducted on Monday…The sub-inspector will record their statements. Then their statements will be submitted before the judge, most likely on Tuesday. Once these formalities are completed, a police team will travel to Varanasi to interrogate the accused,” Mishra said.
Saraswati’s public relations officer, Shailendra Yogiraj Sarkar, claimed that plainclothes police officers were deployed outside the seer’s ashram near Kedar Ghat in Varanasi. He added that personnel of Bilobur police station were also on alert. He added: “A free and fair investigation will reveal the truth. There is nothing to hide.”
Saraswati met lawyers at his silo and is believed to be considering approaching the Supreme Court to prevent his arrest, Sarkar said. He insisted that the allegations were baseless and that the boys had never joined Saraswati School. “When the marks were submitted to the court, they showed that they were students of a school in Hardoi. What should we do with them?” He added that Saraswati neither absconded nor evaded investigation.
The case was filed against Saraswati under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act after Ashutosh Maharaj, a disciple of spiritual leader Jagadguru Rambhadracharya, approached the special court with two boys. The boys’ statements were recorded on camera in court. The boys claimed they were threatened when they resisted the abuse.
Saraswati’s student, Mukundanand Brahmachari, and three unidentified persons have also been booked on charges of sexual assault and threatening boys.
Maharaj told the court that he filed a complaint on January 24 and then approached the Police Commissioner on January 25 and the Superintendent of Police (Maj Mela) on January 27, but no action was taken, prompting him to seek judicial intervention.
The court explained that it did not express any opinion on the merits of the case and that all issues would be decided during the investigation.
