Ashok Kharat case: Godman impregnated victim, gave her abortion pills, say police

A day after he was remanded in magisterial custody in a rape and black magic case, self-styled ‘godman’ Ashok Kharat was sent to police custody till April 8, 2026, in another rape case by a court in Nashik.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case submitted that he had not been cooperating in the investigation.

Mr. Kharat was produced in the court via video conferencing on Thursday (April 2, 2026) and his lawyer said that objectionable videos were selectively being leaked on social media “intentionally”.

But the investigating officer told the court that the accused had raped a woman and impregnated her. “He gave her medicines for abortion. He is the mastermind. He has not been co-operating with the police,” the officer said.

The prosecution argued that the victim was sexually exploited several times between February 2020 and March 2026. “She was threatened about the well-being of her children from time to time. When she became pregnant, he gave her abortion pills. He forced the relatives of the victim like her brother and mother to give their Aadhaar card and PAN card. He gave the victim sedatives. He is a sexual pervert who was used to drawing physical pleasure. He used the same modus operandi on all his victims,” the prosecution argued.

It sought Mr. Kharat’s custody for seven days so that the SIT can find out which medicines were given to the victim and why the accused took away documents from her family.

Throughout the hearing, Mr. Kharat stood in front of the camera with clasped hands and refused to comment.

The defence lawyer sought details of the FIR and sought to know about the time frame of the said offence.

“Let me not talk about morality. Let me talk about the legal aspects. The allegation is that the woman went to him for years continuously. If she remained pregnant and was made to do an abortion, what is that time frame? The police have had to invoke the Black Magic Act. Without it, the issue of consent becomes immaterial. The only recourse for the prosecution is the Black Magic Act, without which rape cannot be proven,” the defence argued.

The lawyer said that police custody was not justified as most of the investigation had been carried out in the previous offence. After hearing both the sides and after asking Mr. Kharat for his statement, the court remanded him in police custody.