SIT to probe rape allegations against self-styled ‘godman’

Maharashtra forms a Special Investigation Team to probe sexual assault claims against godman Ashok Kharat, amid calls for women's commission chair to resign.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra government on Thursday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of sexual assault against self-styled godman and numerologist Ashok Kharat, even as political pressure mounted on the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) chairperson Rupali Chakankar to step down. Chakankar is a trustee of a trust headed by Kharat at Sinnar, in Nashik district.

On Thursday, activist Anjali Damania posted a picture of MSCW chief Rupali Chakankar with Ashok Kharat on X. (Anjali Damania/X)

The SIT will be led by senior IPS officer Tejaswi Satpute, commandant of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), Pune, who took charge of the investigation on Thursday.

The team has been tasked to conduct a comprehensive probe into a 27-year-old woman’s allegations of repeated sexual assault on false promises by Kharat, who was arrested on Wednesday. On Thursday, crime branch officials also conducted a raid on his farmhouse located at Mirgaon village in Sinnar. They have reportedly seized several documents and a pistol along with live cartridges.

People in the know of the matter said Satpute was informed about a new task on Wednesday, following which she reached Nashik on Thursday morning and took over the investigation. “On the very first day, she interrogated Kharat for around three hours in connection with the sexual exploitation case,” said a police official privy to the development.

Satpute’s second SIT in 6 months

This is the second SIT that Satpute is leading in less than six months. In November 2025, she headed a SIT formed to investigate the suicide case of a woman doctor from Phaltan. The doctor had penned a suicide note on her palm, in which she accused a police officer, sub-inspector Gopal Badane, of sexual assault and a techie, Prashant Bankar, of mental harassment. She also mentioned the name of a former MP in another four-page suicide letter.

Meanwhile, a court has remanded Kharat to police custody until March 24. On Wednesday, he was booked under sections 64(1), 74, 352, 351(1) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita Act (BNS) and sections 3 (1), 3 (2) of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.

The victim’s FIR states that Kharat had repeatedly raped her between November 2022 and December 2025, taking advantage of her religious beliefs. He would allegedly lace her food and water with substances that rendered her unconscious. He also threatened to ruin her life by instilling fear about her husband’s death. “Two other victims are likely to come forward against Kharat,” said another police official.

Officials have seized around 58 objectionable videos from Kharat – in one of them that has been shared on social media, the accused is seen placing a copper vessel on one woman’s head under the pretext of performing a religious ritual, followed by an inappropriate conduct.

Women’s commission chief must resign: Leaders

The video of Chakankar washing Kharat’s feet created a stir in the corridors of power.

In a press conference in Pune on Thursday, Chakankar’s colleague from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Rupali Thombare Patil demanded her resignation, alleging her probable interference in the investigation. Patil also demanded that she be named co-accused in the case.

Patil alleged that Chakankar had failed to act against Kharat despite similar reports emerging against him a year ago. “Several women would have been saved if timely action had been taken,” said Patil. “The courage of this fraudulent baba grew because of such support. Without backing, no criminal would act so boldly.”

Speaking in a similar vein, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, “The job of the chairperson of women’s commission is to raise her voice against atrocities on women and ensure action against the accused. If she is seen washing the feet of the accused, how can she continue in the position?” He also urged chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to sack her from her position adding that “the incident tarnished the progressive image of Maharashtra”.

Like Patil, Pune-based activist Vijay Kumbhar also alleged that prior complaints against Kharat were ignored, and that “complainants were silenced, which is extremely serious”.

NCP leader and state agriculture minister Datta Barne however defended Chakankar, suggesting she may not have been aware of Kharat’s alleged activities. “She might have been asked to take his darshan at the insistence of locals,” he said.

(With inputs by Nadeem Inamdar, from Pune)