Maharashtra: Two arrested, six booked for circulating obscene videos related to Ashok Kharat case

Police in Maharashtras Ahilyanagar district have arrested two persons while six others have been booked in Nashik for allegedly circulating obscene videos of women victims linked to selfstyled godman Ashok Kharat on social media reported the PTIKharat was arrested on March 18 for allegedly raping a woman repeatedly over the past three yearsDuring the investigation authorities uncovered several videos showing the exploitation of womenOfficials said that some of these clips were later found circulating on platforms such as WhatsApp prompting immediate action by the Special Investigation Team SIT as per the PTIAccording to police a resident of Kopargaon allegedly shared one such video on a WhatsApp group which was then forwarded to others Based on this the police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology IT ActTwo accused have been arrested while efforts are underway to trace another individual involved in forwarding the content police saidSix booked in NashikMeanwhile in a related development six individuals have been booked in Nashik for circulating similar objectionable videosPolice said efforts are ongoing to apprehend themAhilyanagar Superintendent of Police Somnath Ghughe warned that anyone sharing such content including social media group administrators would face strict legal actionAppeal from SITIPS officer Tejaswi Satpute who is leading the SIT probe has urged the public media and social media users not to share or publish any videos of the victimsThe SIT is currently investigating at least six cases linked to Kharat including allegations of rape human sacrifice and black magicWoman files complaint against selfproclaimed godman alleges rapeMeanwhile in an another incident the recent arrest of Ashok Kharat reportedly gave courage to a woman to file a complaint against a selfstyled godman in Maharashtras Palghar district reported the PTIShe alleged that the selfproclaimed godman had allegedly raped herHe has been booked for allegedly raping the 35yearold woman after posing as an incarnation of a deity police said on Friday as per PTIThe woman gathered the courage to file a complaint following the recent arrest of former Merchant Navy officer and selfstyled godman Ashok Kharat in Nashik an official said according to the PTIThe police said that the woman first came into contact with the accused through Facebook in 2023 In December that year he visited the woman in Pune and allegedly deceived her by claiming he was an incarnation of Mahadev and that she was his ldquoParvatirdquo as per the FIRAs per the news agency the complainant alleged that the accused took her to a lodge in Punersquos Manjari area where he administered a numbing substance before raping her He also allegedly took photographs of her without her knowledge during the assaultBlackmailed using picturesPolice said the accused later used these photographs to blackmail the woman In May last year he allegedly called her to a hotel in Vasai and attempted to sexually assault her againSenior Inspector Hiralal Jadhav of Manikpur police station said the woman decided to come forward after the Nashik ldquoCaptainrdquo Kharat case gave her the courage to speak out PTI reportedSince the primary offence took place in Pune the Manikpur police registered a Zero FIR on Wednesday and transferred the case to the Hadapsar police station for further investigationA zero FIR allows a complaint to be filed at any police station irrespective of jurisdiction and is later transferred to the appropriate authorityThe woman has also alleged that the accused lured and sexually exploited several other women using a similar modus operandi Police said efforts are underway to apprehend the accusedwith PTI inputs