Sinnar police take custody of astrologer Ashok Kharat in second case registered with them

Nashik: The Sinnar police on Saturday took astrologer Ashok Kharat into fresh custody in the second case registered with them involving alleged cheating and violations of the Black Magic Act.“Kharat was produced before a Sinnar court, which remanded him in three-day police custody till Monday,” said inspector Hemantkumar Bhamre, of the Sinnar police station. Kharat’s wife, Kalpana, a coaccused in the case, has evaded arrest since the FIR was registered on April 8.The couple and three associates have been booked under sections 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act.Bhamre said the latest case stems from a complaint by a grocery shop owner, who alleged that between Nov 2003 and Feb 2004, Kharat, his wife, and associates fraudulently usurped 16.5 acres of land by registering it in the names of his (Kharat’s) family members.The development follows Kharat’s earlier arrest on May 12 in a cooperative credit society fraud case. After his police custody ended, he was sent to judicial custody on May 18, before being taken again for questioning in the present case.Citing the complaint, Bhamre said, “The complainant’s family had purchased the land for ₹15 lakh in 1997, but decided to sell it in 2003 due to the difficulty of commuting daily from their home in Kundewadi village to Mirgaon (both in Sinnar taluka). They were introduced to Kharat, who presented himself as both a property dealer and an astrologer.”The police said Kharat allegedly won the family’s trust by pretending to have “divine powers,” bolstered by a steady stream of visitors seeking astrological advice at his office.“During a visit to the land, he reportedly claimed it was afflicted by a “bad omen” and convinced the grocer’s family to agree to sell it for just ₹3.5 lakh on the pretext of building a Lord Shiva temple. However, the police said Kharat did not pay the promised amount,” Bhamre said.The complainant allegedly refrained from approaching police for years due to fear that Kharat would use his “purported divine powers” to harm his family. He came forward only after learning of Kharat’s arrest by Nashik city police in other serious cases, including allegations linked to rape, fraud and black magic.The police said further investigation is underway to establish the full extent of the alleged fraud and identify the roles of all accused.