The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing rape, human sacrifice, and black magic charges against self-styled astrologer and godman Ashok Kharat on Sunday questioned a watchman and the priest of the Ishaneshwar Mahadev Temple, with which the accused is linked, in Nashik.
Kharat, a former Merchant Navy officer, was arrested on 18 March for rape and other offences following the complaint of a 35-year-old woman. She alleged that Kharat raped her several times over a period of three years. Since then, the probe has revealed the alleged power Kharat wielded among a set of political leaders, as well as transactions linked to land in Sinnar and some other areas in the Nashik district.
"On Sunday, the SIT questioned Pramod Gadakh, the caretaker priest of the Ishaneshwar Mahadev Temple in Mirgaon, and a watchman. On Saturday, it interrogated Neeraj Jadhav, a staffer at Kharat's office, for seven hours in connection with a case registered at the Shirdi police station," an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. A staffer at Kharat's office was questioned for more than seven hours by the SIT, led by Tejaswini Satpute, IPS, and CCTV DVRs were seized as part of the probe from Kharat's Mirgaon farmhouse, Tikde Colony bungalow, and Canada Corner office, the official added.
He has also been charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act for allegedly threatening to circulate photographs of a 24-year-old woman, the official said. The woman's complaint accuses Kharat of rape, human sacrifice, and black magic. Consequently, he has been booked under the BNS and the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, the official added.
Meanwhile, officials said residents of Kharat's native Mirgaon are angry at the way the reputation of the village has been "tarnished", with some of them seeking "capital punishment" for the accused. They have also sought the seizure of Kharat's properties and the handover of the temple his trust runs to the local residents.