Kharat case: SIT probe intensifies; temple priest, watchman among those questioned

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing rape, human sacrifice and black magic charges against arrested Merchant Navy officer-turned self-styled astrologer and godman Ashok Kharat on Sunday (March 22, 2026) questioned the priest of Ishaneshwar Mahadev Temple, with which the accused is linked, and a watchman in Nashik, officials said.

A day earlier, a staffer of Kharat’s office was questioned for more than seven hours by the SIT led by Indian Police Service officer Tejaswini Satpute, they added.

Kharat was arrested on March 18 for rape and other offences on the complaint of a 35-year-old woman. She alleged Kharat raped her several times over a period of three years.

Since then, the probe has revealed the alleged power Kharat wielded among a set of political leaders as well as transactions linked to land in Sinnar and some other areas in Nashik district.

“On Sunday (March 22), the SIT team questioned Pramod Gadakh, caretaker priest of the Ishaneshwar Mahadev Temple in Mirgaon, and a watchman. On Saturday (March 21), it had interrogated Neeraj Jadhav, staffer at Kharat’s office, for seven hours in connection with a case registered at Shirdi police station,” the official said.

The official said CCTV DVRs have been seized as part of the probe from Kharat’s Mirgaon farmhouse, Tikde Colony bungalow and Canada Corner office.

The official said Kharat is named in several cases filed at Vavi, Shirdi and Sarkarwada police stations for alleged extortion, blackmail, rape and black magic practices.

He has been charged under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act for allegedly threatening to circulate photographs of a 24-year-old woman, the official said.

The case registered at Sarkarwada police station stems from a woman’s complaint accusing Kharat of rape, human sacrifice and black magic. He has been booked under BNS and Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices Act, the official added.

Incidentally, Kharat himself has filed a complaint against two persons at Vavi police station accusing them of blackmailing him over obscene photos. The case has been registered under BNS and IT Act, the official said.

Investigators are reaching out to potential victims and more cases are expected to be registered against Kharat in the days to come, he said.

Sources in Nashik said three women have approached police. Allegations of Kharat and his kin possessing documents of 52 properties are also being probed, they added.

In a related development, state Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Saturday (March 21) cancelled a 2020 Government Resolution (GR) allowing Kharat-linked Shivanik Sansthan trust in Mirgaon to lift 3.9 million litres of Darna Dam water daily for “drinking purposes”. It is alleged that Kharat diverted this water to his mango orchards.

Vikhe Patil has also ordered a probe into the antecedents of the GR that led to Kharat’s trust getting dam water.

Meanwhile, officials said residents of Kharat’s native Mirgaon are angry at the way the reputation of the village has got “tarnished”, with some of them seeking “capital punishment” for the accused.

They also sought seizure of Kharat’s properties and handover of the temple his trust runs to residents.

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said a high-level inquiry under the director general of police (DGP) is underway in the case involving Kharat and asserted no one will be spared.

Mr. Fadnavis further said that while efforts are underway to politicise this case, people who have evidence to support their allegations should come forward and cooperate with the police.