Pune/Nashik: The Nashik court on Thursday remanded the self-styled godman, Ashok Kharat, to five days of police remand in the third rape case.
The assistant public prosecutor, Shailendra Bagade, said that the court of the chief judicial magistrate, BN Ichpurani, has remanded Kharat to five days of police remand. The investigators had requested seven days of police remand.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested Kharat on Wednesday night for allegedly sexually abusing the pregnant wife of a former employee who worked as an office boy. The arrest follows a complaint filed by the husband of the victim on March 21.
During the hearing, the investigators said that Kharat was not cooperating with them in the investigations so far.
“The investigations about the complaint were in the primary stage,” said Bagade, adding that the investigators have to probe the ill-treatment of women victims by Kharat on the pretext of performing religious rituals, finding out the source from where Kharat used to procure the ‘magic stones’ that he used to give to the victims for good fortune.
Bagade said that police also want to track the extortion of large sums from devotees through threats and intimidation, the purchase of sedatives and the use of electronic gadgets like snakes to hoodwink his devotees.
Defence counsel, Sachin Bhate, said that the prosecution had already secured his police remand for 20 days in the first two cases, and they have failed to produce good reasons for further police custody.
{{/usCountry}}Defence counsel, Sachin Bhate, said that the prosecution had already secured his police remand for 20 days in the first two cases, and they have failed to produce good reasons for further police custody.
{{/usCountry}}The Nashik city police had arrested him on March 18 after the first victim, a woman, lodged a complaint against him at the Sarkarwada police station.
So far, 13 cases of sexual abuse and cheating have been lodged against Kharat–11 in Sarkarwada police station and two in Shirdi and Rahata police stations in Ahilyanagar district. The SIT is probing eight cases related to sexual abuse.