A Nashik court on Thursday remanded self-styled godman Ashok Kharat to judicial custody until May 6 in the fifth sexual assault and exploitation case registered against him, with the court proceedings conducted via video conferencing due to security concerns. Kharat will now be lodged at Nashik Road Central Jail. Kharat was first arrested on March 18 after a 35-year-old woman filed a rape complaint against him at Sarkarwada police station. He now faces at least 12 criminal cases across Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts, including eight counts of sexual assault.
The Maharashtra government has constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the allegations of sexual assault and large-scale financial fraud against him.
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In the fifth case, Kharat allegedly sexually exploited a married woman who had approached him for help with family problems, news agency PTI reported. He allegedly threatened her that her son's life would be in danger if she ever spoke out - a tactic that kept her silent for an extended period. The SIT had sought his custody in this case on April 18, produced him before court the following day, and he remained in police custody until April 23 before Thursday's judicial remand order.
The defence raised no objection to the demand for judicial custody. The SIT is set to produce Kharat before court again on Friday in a sixth case, involving alleged sexual harassment of another woman.
Beyond the courtroom, Kharat has triggered a political storm. Since his arrest, photographs of him alongside prominent political leaders and influential public figures have surfaced regularly on mainstream and social media, raising uncomfortable questions about his access to power and the patronage networks that may have shielded him.
Investigators believe the number of victims could be higher and have urged other affected women to come forward.
Pranjal Gupta hails from Madhya Pradesh. She has a keen interest in politics and defines herself as a thinker, reader, and writer who found her passio...View More
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