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Nashik Court Sends ‘Godman’ Ashok Kharat to Judicial Custody Till May 9 as Probes Widen

The remand underscores an investigation now reaching from sexual exploitation to high-value fraud.

Overview

  • Kharat was remanded to judicial custody till May 9 in a sixth sexual exploitation case, with the hearing held by video conference for security.
  • A Mumbai consultant, Lalit Pophale, filed a new FIR alleging Kharat extorted ₹8.76 crore through “death prediction” rituals, including transfers to Kharat and his wife and a trip to Thiruvananthapuram.
  • The Special Investigation Team said it recovered suspicious CCTV footage from Kharat’s Mirgaon farmhouse that investigators believe could back the exploitation charges.
  • Sinnar police arrested a cooperative credit-society manager over 32 alleged fake accounts opened between 2016 and 2023, with transactions over ₹57.90 lakh and Kharat listed as nominee.
  • Police and a Maharashtra SIT are handling a growing set of FIRs across Nashik and Ahilyanagar, while the Enforcement Directorate runs a parallel financial probe that could trace where money moved and who controlled assets.