A fresh first information report (FIR) was registered on Wednesday against self-styled godman Ashok Kharat following a complaint of alleged rape by an unmarried woman from Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district.
With this, the total number of criminal cases registered against Kharat has risen to seven. So far, six women have come forward with complaints of sexual abuse, while another case was filed by a former office staffer accusing Kharat of allegedly raping his wife.
According to officials aware of the developments, the woman from Shirdi alleged in her complaint that Kharat raped her four times between July and December 2024.
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Kharat allegedly threatened her, claiming he had “divine powers” and could harm her family or cause her parents’ deaths if she disclosed the abuse.
The woman and her parents had first approached Kharat in 2021 through his office staffer, Niraj Jadhav, seeking guidance on constructing a house on their plot. She claimed that Kharat advised them against building on the land and said he would offer a remedy later.
In July 2024, the woman, a management graduate, and her parents met Kharat again as she sought his guidance for securing a good job.
According to the complaint, Kharat asked her parents to wait outside his chamber, after which he allegedly sedated and raped her. She further alleged that he assaulted her on three more occasions until December 2024.
The woman stated that in December she received a video clip on WhatsApp from an unknown number showing obscene acts involving Kharat and her.
When she confronted Kharat, he allegedly claimed the clip was AI-generated and advised her to file a complaint against the sender. She subsequently approached Shirdi police but did not mention the alleged assaults at the time.
After Kharat’s arrest by Nashik city police earlier this month, the woman disclosed the alleged abuse to her parents and has now lodged a formal complaint.
Kharat blackmailed women and repeatedly raped them, claiming he was an avatar of Lord Shiva. He instructed them to abide by his orders, threatening them with dire consequences if they didn’t.