Nashik astrologer Kharat now in police custody till April 8 in second rape case

Nashik: The court of chief judicial magistrate B N Ichpurani on Thursday remanded astrologer Ashok Kharat in police custody till April 8 in connection with a second case of rape.The SIT produced Kharat through video-conferencing mode to avoid the security logistics that arise from the heavy crowd of lawyers and locals who try to get into the courtroom in the wake of the huge interest generated by the cases against Kharat. Kharat is facing total 11 criminal cases of which seven are related to rape and offences under Black Magic Act. All these cases are being investigated by a special investigation team (SIT) under IPS officer Tejaswi Satpute.On Wednesday evening, the SIT took Kharat's custody from the Nashik Road Central Prison (where he was lodged after the completion of his custodial remand since his arrest on March 17 in the first case) against an arrest warrant issued by the court relating to the second case.In her complaint filed on March 21, the survivor in the second case accused Kharat of sexually exploiting her between 2020 and 2026 and giving her pills to abort her child when she became pregnant.The prosecution told the court that the police needed to establish the source from where Kharat procured the sedative material and herts and the people he was in contact with to secure the same.Assistant public prosecutor Shailendra Bagade said, "In this case the woman - who is a divorcee - had met Kharat seeking his guidance for the hardships she had been going through. Kharat gave her something to drink and then had a physical relationship with her. He also threatened her saying both her sons would die if she did not coperate with him and her future would be dark. We need to investigate these allegations.""We told the court that the police want to investigate into the allegations of rape. We also want to find out what pills were administered by Kharat to the victim for abortion after she was impregnated by the accused. The police also want to establish the source from where Kharat procured the sedative material, herbs and the people he was in contact with to secure them," Bagade added.The police have also tried to understand why Kharat had taken the survivor and her family members' PAN cards and if he used the same buying things and even property for himself, the SIT's remand report stated.Defence advocate Sachin Bhate opposed the police custody plea on the grounds that reasons mentioned in the demand were the same as in the first case. "There are no fresh reasons mentioned by the police while seeking remand in this second case. The police have not presented any information regarding the time when the victim is claimed to have been impregnated and even abortion being carried out. There are chances of misccariage also. So why should the court remand him to police custody," Bhate said.