An official investigation in Paris has found no evidence that the Hindu socio-spiritual organisation Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) asked the Eiffel Tower to remove female employees during a private visit by its delegation.

The General Inspectorate of the City of Paris (IGVP), cited by French newspaper Le Parisien, found no written instruction, email or explicit request from BAPS seeking the exclusion of women. Investigators instead concluded that a limited request from the delegation was misunderstood and expanded as it moved through the Eiffel Tower’s management structure.

"There is not a single written document, not a single email expressing this opinion. Everything was done between consenting adults", the report stated.

A Parisien elected official said the original message became distorted as it was passed verbally through the organisation.

"By having an instruction circulate by word of mouth, the message got distorted. Until we reached these failures", they said.

The controversy began after a private BAPS delegation visit to the Eiffel Tower on September 5. Female employees later alleged that they had been sidelined or replaced while the delegation was at the landmark. The incident led to staff protests and a strike, forcing the Eiffel Tower to close for a day.

The investigation found no evidence that BAPS had directly asked for female employees to be removed. However, it raised questions over how the Eiffel Tower’s operator, Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), handled the delegation’s request.

SETE chief Patrick Branco-Ruivo has announced that he will leave his position by the end of the year. He has maintained that he did not personally order the removal or replacement of female employees during the visit.

SETE had earlier acknowledged that the Hindu delegation requested arrangements to limit "interactions with women". The company said that "these conditions should not have been accepted".

The incident triggered strong criticism from Eiffel Tower staff. Employees said they received instructions that resulted in female colleagues being sidelined during the delegation’s visit.

In a statement, staff said the instructions led to "female employees being sidelined, replaced and made invisible because of their sex".

"Some were asked to leave their posts and withdraw to other areas. In some posts they were replaced by men. And all female employees were instructed not to go through or cross certain areas while the delegation was present", the statement said.

BAPS is a Hindu socio-spiritual organisation rooted in the Swaminarayan tradition. Founded in 1907 by Shastriji Maharaj, it is headquartered in Ahmedabad and has temples, centres and volunteers across the world.

The organisation focuses on spiritual development, religious education, community service and humanitarian activities. Its work includes temples and cultural centres, religious programmes, youth and educational initiatives, healthcare projects and disaster relief.

BAPS also runs schools, hospitals and other social-service projects in India and abroad.