Nashik: Nashik Crime Branch arrested self-proclaimed ‘godman’ Ashok Kharat aka ‘Captain’ Kharat, for allegedly raping a woman and exploiting multiple others under the guise of religious practices.
Kharat, a numerologist, gained the trust of a 35-year-old married woman through rituals, occult practices and claims of possessing divine powers, police said. He then allegedly drugged her with intoxicants mixed in food and water, hypnotised her, and sexually assaulted her repeatedly between November 2022 and December 2025.
It was only recently that the woman approached police and lodged a complaint.
Kharat, who exploited the victim’s religious faith to exert control over her, threatened the woman that he will harm her husband and ruin her life if she resisted or spoke out.
Police seized a pen drive containing 58 obscene video clips during a raid at Kharat’s office.
A CCTV video from the office has also surfaced, purportedly showing Kharat engaging in questionable rituals with a woman before getting physical with her.
A former Merchant Navy employee, Kharat is the president of Shri Ishaneshwar Temple Trust in Mirgaon. He rose to prominence as a numerologist, with several politicians, businessmen and celebrities seeking guidance.
In November 2022, Kharat came into the limelight when then-Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde visited the Mirgaon temple.
There has been a political row after photographs of Kharat with the likes of Amit Shah, Shinde and eight-time MLA and current minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil surfaced online.
The Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government has constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the Kharat case and identify other potential victims.
A case has been registered against Kharat under multiple sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 64(1), 74, 352, and 351(1), along with provisions of the Maharashtra Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013 (Sections 3(1) and 3(2)).
Kharat, who was produced before a court, has been remanded to police custody till March 24.
