Mumbai, April 6 Under pressure from the opposition, activist Anjali Damania claimed on Monday that she had used an AI-based large language model (LLM), Claude, to analyze call data records (CDR) of arrested self-proclaimed godman Ashok Kharat.
Addressing a press conference here, Damania said she would never engage in any illegal activity and criticized Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for indulging in "politics of convenience".
Damania, who claimed to have received the CDR on WhatsApp from a person claiming to be a private detective, is facing criticism from opposition parties, who have sought an inquiry into how she obtained the CDR. Fadnavis has said that the matter will be investigated.
"I used the AI LLM, Claude, to find out which person received how many calls from Kharat's mobile phone. I never do any illegal things. I verified the Excel data using the AI tool before sharing the information with the authorities," Damania said.
The self-proclaimed godman-cum-astrologer was arrested in March after a married woman accused him of repeatedly raping her over a period of three years. A total of eight FIRs have been registered against him so far.
A subsequent investigation uncovered a series of crimes, including sexual assault and financial irregularities linked to land and other properties.
After his arrest, photos of Kharat with prominent Maharashtra politicians, including Shinde and NCP leader Rupali Chakankar, went viral. Shinde, then Maharashtra Chief Minister, had visited Kharat's temple in 2022.
Citing the CDR, Damania has claimed that 17 calls were exchanged between Kharat, who is currently in jail since March 18, and Deputy CM Shinde during an unspecified period. She has also named other leaders like Chakankar and Sunil Tatkare, as well as BJP's Chandrakant Patil and Ashish Shelar.
The activist further claimed that SMS alerts linked to transactions in Samata Credit Cooperative Society showed an unusual spike around the time of an alleged accident involving Ajit Pawar, a reference to the then deputy CM's death in a plane crash on January 28.
She alleged that 17 messages were received on January 27, followed by 19 the next day, and several more in the following days, which she claimed was not the usual pattern.
According to Damania, the messages indicated deposits or withdrawals in Kharat's account, and she urged investigation agencies to ascertain the nature of these transactions, alleging a possible connection between the financial activity and the incident involving Ajit Pawar.
There is no point in contacting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over this issue, as he is only indulging in politics, Damania alleged.
"He is involved in politics of convenience. In Parth Pawar's Mundhawa land case, he (CM) sat on the report for nearly three months. It was released on the last day of the Budget session. These people do politics only; there is no point in meeting them. My hope lies with DGP (Director General of Police) Sadanand Date only," Damania added.
Speaking about how she obtained the CDR, Damania said she received it from an unidentified individual who claimed to be a private detective.
"Activists are sometimes used (in this manner) to bring such information into the public domain. I have submitted the material to the police and have asked for a thorough probe," she told reporters.
In a related development, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare raised questions about the investigation done by the SIT in the Kharat case.
"If information (regarding the case) reaches Anjali Damania and me, then why does it not reach the SIT. This work is expected from the SIT," the Sena UBT leader said.
She demanded that all names mentioned in the CDR should be investigated.