Who Is Ashok Kharat? Retired Navy Officer Arrested By Nashik Police In Sexual Exploitation Case Following Seizure Of 58 Objectionable Videos

Nashik police in Maharashtra arrested Captain Ashok Kharat, a retired officer in the Indian Navy who became a self proclaimed godman and astrologer later on Wednesday, in relation to a serious sexual exploitation case. The police claim that Kharat threatened women with his power as a spiritual guide and that he would seduce and torment women and then drug and shoot them in humiliating poses and thus exploited them and blackmailed them. The police allegedly seized a pen drive with 58 obscene videos that were suspected to be blackmail material in order to intimidate the victims. An official First Information Report (FIR) has been taken and the Crime Branch Unit 1 is probing the issue.

Who Is Ashok Kharat? Retired Navy Officer Arrested By Nashik Police In Sexual Exploitation Case Following Seizure Of 58 Objectionable Videos

The arrest has created a greater controversy because of the high profile relationships that Kharat has. The viral video clips and photographs on social media depict him alongside influential people such as the chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission of Women, Rupali Chakankar and other local leaders. In one of the videos, Chakankar is also shown washing the feet of Kharat and addressing him as her guru, which has attracted strong political attacks and the concerned gaze of the people. Although Chakankar has had to declare that she did not know of the allegations and that the investigation must be objective, the opposition leaders have called on her to be answerable and in other instances resign after allegations that Kharat might have enjoyed a form of political immunity. 

Ashok Kharat Viral Video

As police and victim reports tell, Kharat supposedly approached women with the use of spiritual guidance, got them drunk and filmed them without their consent. Such videos are reported to be used to blackmail the victims into getting into additional exploitation. It has also been observed that the case contains weighty charges including rape and criminal intimidation. With the police in Nashik still investigating, the nexus between the supposed spiritual leaders and influential groups have led to interest in the investigation about how the vulnerable people, in general, are overseen and how their protection is assured. 

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