ED Moves Special Court in Mumbai for Custody of Rape Accused Godman in Money Laundering Case
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved a special PMLA court in Mumbai to issue a production order against self-styled godman and astrologer Ashok Kharat, who is facing rape and fraud charges in the money laundering case.
The ED filed a criminal case against Kharat under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on April 6; He took note of the FIR filed by Nashik police against the “godman” on charges of extortion, religious manipulation and drug-facilitated assault against multiple female victims. The PMLA court is scheduled to hear the federal investigation agency’s custody request on Saturday.
Kharat, who is currently in police custody in Nashik, is also facing multiple FIRs related to rape and sexual abuse of women. Nashik police arrested him on March 18 after a married woman accused him of repeatedly raping her for three years.
A court in Nashik on Friday remanded Kharat in police custody till May 4 in a case involving cheating of more than Rs 5 million by a Pune-based businessman.
The financial crime investigation agency has accused Kharat of orchestrating a massive extortion racket and laundering over Rs 70 million through a network of ‘benami’ bank accounts.
It may be noted that benami bank accounts are accounts held in the name of one person, where the money is provided to another person or is legally owned.
Earlier this week, the ED directed the Nashik Central Jail (where the accused was subsequently lodged in rape cases) to produce Kharat before the special judge, urging the special court to issue a production order under relevant provisions of BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) and PMLA.
Once produced before the special judge, the ED is likely to seek custody of Kharat after formally arresting him in his case. The central investigation agency said Kharat’s custody was necessary to unravel the larger conspiracy, identify the ultimate beneficiaries and follow the ED suspects’ money trail, which could have cross-border implications.
Kharat allegedly opened 60 accounts in the Samata Nagari Cooperative Credit Society in Ahilyanagar district, using the victims’ documents without their consent, and carried out transactions worth more than Rs 70 billion in a day.
According to the ED, investigations revealed that Kharat acquired various movable and immovable properties in his name and the names of his family members from funds accumulated by extortion from the victims and by selling common items such as tamarind seeds and honey as ‘blessed’ items.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing the cases filed against Kharat. The SIT had filed a request in the Nashik court on April 30 seeking his custody in the cheating case, which is the ninth offense against him.
In eight other cases, Kharat is accused of sexually exploiting women. Kharat, a wealthy man with political connections, is accused of sexually exploiting numerous women by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic, as well as committing large-scale financial fraud.
The SIT is conducting an investigation into 12 cases of sexual abuse and financial fraud registered against the astrologer in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts.
