The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the accusations against disgraced godman-cum-astrologer Ashok Kharat said that their cyber wing has removed as many as 4,650 links that contained the videos of his sexual violence from various social media platforms.
As many as 451 accounts that repeatedly posted objectionable videos involving the survivors of the case on social media have been permanently deleted, Tejaswi Satpute IPS, who heads the SIT, reportedly told the press on Tuesday. The Maharashtra Police have so far registered two cases in connection with the circulation of these videos and arrested six individuals, she confirmed.
Satpute also appealed to citizens to remain alert and cautious so that women are not exploited due to superstition and no one falls victim to the fraud of such godmen in the future.
Ashok Kharat was arrested in March after a married woman accused him of raping her repeatedly over three years. A subsequent probe uncovered a host of crimes, including sexual assault and financial irregularities linked to land and other properties. After his arrest, photos of Kharat with prominent politicians went viral, causing a political firestorm in the state.
"Kharat is facing 12 criminal cases in Ahilya Nagar and Nashik City. Among these, eight are related to sexually assaulting women, and the SIT is probing a case of financial fraud," news agency PTI quoted Satpute as adding.
The Cyber Cell of the police department was tasked with ensuring no further video leaks involving his alleged sex crimes happened, as it could affect the normal lives of survivors and witnesses. Many families involved in the case remain confined to their homes for fear of people identifying them from these leaked videos. Depressed survivors had reached out to psychologists for help, while many have requested a work-from-home option from their employers as a consequence of the online video leaks.
Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had taken note of the issue and directed strict action against media platforms that fail to follow guidelines while broadcasting such content; notices have since been issued to several news channels.