Nashik (Maharashtra), March 28 Police said on Saturday that two more cases have been registered against self-proclaimed spiritual leader Ashok Kharat, adding that the Special Investigation Team investigating him has received over 100 complaints via phone.
With this, a total of ten FIRs, eight for alleged sexual assault or exploitation and two for fraud, have been registered against Kharat at the Sarkarwada police station in the city.
Kharat, who had been visited by several prominent Maharashtra politicians over the years, was arrested on March 18 after a woman alleged that he had repeatedly raped her for three years.
On Friday, another FIR was registered against him based on a complaint filed by a woman, officials said.
The woman said she had met Kharat for guidance as her relationship with her husband was strained and her family was facing financial difficulties.
Kharat allegedly told her that she would have to comply with his every demand if she wanted a solution to her problems, and sexually exploited her between March 2022 and 2024.
The second FIR registered on Friday was based on a fraud complaint filed by Rajendra Bhagwat, a cloth merchant from Nevasa.
He said he wanted his business to succeed and had met Kharat on the advice of a relative.
Kharat allegedly took a gold ring and a few gemstones from him and gave him a ring and a gemstone in return, asking him to wear them.
According to Bhagwat, he paid Rs 2.62 lakh for this, but later realized that the ring and gemstone given by Kharat were fake, and he had been cheated.
The SIT, which has published two phone numbers for those who want to provide information about Kharat's criminal activities, has received over 100 complaints in the last five days, most of them from women, a police official said.
However, he added that very few of them are coming forward to file written complaints.
Kharat is also suspected to be involved in a Hawala racket, the official said.
