Overview
- Police custody for Ashok Kharat, arrested March 18 on rape charges, was extended to Wednesday after Sunday’s hearing as prosecutors cited fresh leads, pending digital checks and non-cooperation.
- Following Friday’s new complaints, Nashik police counted 10 FIRs in total, with eight alleging sexual exploitation and two alleging cheating or extortion, including a gemstone scam reported by a cloth trader.
- The SIT says more than 100 phone complaints have come in over recent days, and investigators have seized laptops, phones and a pen drive with 58 videos while assuring callers their identities will stay confidential.
- Officials have suspended Kharat’s firearms licence with a show-cause notice and filed cyber cases against 65 accounts accused of sharing obscene clips, as the chief minister warned of strict action and pledged victim protection.
- Police in Pune on Friday arrested self-styled guru Hrishikesh Vaidya in a separate rape case after a woman said news of Kharat’s arrest gave her the courage to file a complaint, while opposition leaders pressed claims of Kharat’s political links that party figures disputed.