Rape-accused 'godman' Ashok Kharat sent to judicial custody till April 14

Nashik: A court in Maharashtra's Nashik on Wednesday remanded rape-accused self-styled godman Ashok Kharat in a 14-day judicial custody.

Kharat was arrested on March 18 after a 35-year-old woman accused him of repeated rape over a period of three years. Following his arrest, multiple rape complaints were filed against him.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is conducting a probe against Kharat.

As his police custody ended on Wednesday, he was produced before the court. During the hearing, the SIT sought his judicial custody.

Accordingly, sessions judge B N Ichpurani remanded Kharat in judicial custody till April 14. He will be sent to Nashik Road Central Jail.

Kharat is scheduled to be produced in a court in another case on Thursday.

At least 10 FIRs, eight for alleged sexual assault or exploitation and two for cheating, have been registered against Kharat at Sarkarwada police station in Nashik, while the SIT has received more than 100 complaints over the phone against him.

On Wednesday, an SIT team detained Kharat's son Harshvardhan for questioning from their residence in Karmayogi Nagar here. He was let off at night.

The investigators are also trying to trace Kharat's wife Kalpana in connection with the probe against her husband. She is also named in a cheating case in Ahilyanagar district.

'Godman' Kharat heads a temple trust at Sinnar in Nashik and had several political leaders visit him over the years.

Last week, the SIT visited Kharat's office in Nashik along with a forensic science team, from where they recovered several documents, files and other evidence.

Notably, a 20-feet remote-controlled mechanised snake was also seized from his office. Kharat allegedly used the snake to make his visitors believe that he could control a live snake and thus possessed supernatural powers.