Court remands Nashik ‘godman’ Ashok Kharat to 5-day police custody in fourth rape case

NASHIK: A Nashik court on Tuesday remanded self-styled godman Ashok Kharat to police custody till April 18 in the fourth rape case against him, for allegedly sexually exploiting a woman who had approached him seeking solutions to her family problems.The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the cases against the former merchant navy officer, had on Monday filed an application seeking his custody in the fourth case.As the court granted the necessary permission, the SIT took Kharat into custody and produced him before the court of additional chief judicial magistrate A G Behere on Tuesday.During the proceedings held via video conferencing, public prosecutor Shailendra Bagde argued that further investigation was required in the case.He alleged that the accused had administered sedatives to the victim, who had approached him seeking solutions to her family problems, and sexually exploited her.Kharat’s lawyer, Satish Bhate, however, contended that the accused had already been in police custody for a considerable period and, since the SIT had conducted the investigation, further police remand was not necessary.However, considering the sensitive nature of the case, the court granted five-day police custody to Kharat till April 18.Kharat is facing nearly a dozen cases, eight of which are related to sexual assault.(With agency inputs)