A new report indicates that Ashok Kharat's history of sexual crime predates his fame, stretching back to his days as a youth in Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra. In fact, he became Ashok Kharat after a long hiatus forced by the repercussions of his actions.
Aged 20, the controversial astrologer and self-styled godman was known as Laxman Kharat among the residents of Kopargaon taluka. Laxman had a relative who was childless and desperate. According to the report, he approached the woman, claiming to know rituals that could help her bear a child.
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Taking advantage of her vulnerability, he sexually exploited her after convincing her that he was capable of performing rituals that could change her fate, TV9 Bharatvarsh said in a report. However, when the locals discovered that Laxman had used the woman's grief to sexually exploit her, he was assaulted, the report said.
As outrage over his criminal mindset spread across the village, Laxman Kharat reportedly fled overnight. According to the Hindi media report, it was fifteen years before he returned to the region. By then, Laxman had become Ashok Kharat.
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Kharat is accused of convincing women that he possessed divine powers and exploiting their faith and superstitious beliefs to rape them at his office in Nashik. This story from his past suggests that he had employed this gruesome method before. Maharashtra Police believe that as the investigation progresses, more shocking revelations may emerge.
Meanwhile, Kharat was arrested in a third case of rape and produced via video link before a court in Maharashtra's Nashik district, which on Thursday sent him into five-day police custody.
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In this third case, Kharat—who was first arrested in mid-March—is accused of sexually exploiting a woman who was seven months pregnant, the wife of one of his office staffers.
On 8 April, Kharat was remanded to 14-day judicial custody until 21 April in the second rape case. As a result, he was sent to the Nashik Road Central Jail. However, during the hearing of the second case, the state government-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing multiple offences against the 'godman', filed an application seeking his custody in the third case of sexual assault.
