After the whistleblower involved in exposing Ashok Kharat reportedly accused him of drugging women before sexually assaulting them, a similar claim was made by the latest complainant. According to a Marathi media report, the woman alleged that the self-styled godman and astrologer raped her repeatedly between 2020 and 2026. She reportedly claimed that he fed her substances and threatened to harm or kill her children if she did not comply.
According to the woman, Kharat would lure her under the pretext of performing religious rituals and then assault her. She also claimed that he gave her pills that led to a miscarriage, Loksatta said in a report. The woman is the third to file a case of sexual exploitation against Kharat, the report added.
According to the whistleblower, a former employee of the accused, Kharat would tell women that he possessed divine powers and warn them that if they refused to have physical relations with him, they would face dire consequences, including harm to their husbands.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing rape, human sacrifice, and black magic charges against the arrested Merchant Navy officer-turned-self-styled astrologer and godman, Ashok Kharat, on Sunday questioned the priest of the Ishaneshwar Mahadev Temple, with which the accused is linked, and a watchman in Nashik, officials said.
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A day earlier, a staffer at Kharat's office was questioned for more than seven hours by the SIT, led by Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Tejaswini Satpute, they added.
Kharat 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.