Ashok Kharat sent to police custody in 7th sexual exploitation case in Nashik

Ashok Kharat has been remanded to police custody in a seventh sexual exploitation case in Nashik. Accused of rape, fraud, and black magic claims, he faces multiple cases being probed by a Special Investigation Team

Nashik: A court in Maharashtra’s Nashik has remanded self-styled astrologer-cum-godman Ashok Kharat to police custody till April 29 in the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.

Kharat, a former Merchant Navy officer arrested on March 18, is accused of sexually exploiting several women and indulging in large-scale financial fraud by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic.

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In the seventh case, Kharat sexually exploited a married woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems. The accused allegedly gave the woman something to drink, sexually assaulted her while her husband sat outside his office and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against Kharat in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts, on Sunday filed a request application in the court demanding his custody in the seventh case. Kharat was produced in court for a virtual hearing in the seventh case on Monday.

The prosecution demanded six-day police custody for Kharat, citing the discovery of a locker in Kharat’s house during the investigation, from which the police recovered two blank cheques and other documents, all of which have to be probed. The court agreed to the prosecution’s demand and remanded Kharat to three-day police custody till April 29 in the case.

Kharat has been at the centre of a political firestorm, as he was well-connected, and photographs of him with political leaders and other important members of society have been surfacing in mainstream and social media since his arrest.