Ashok Kharat to Appear Before Mumbai Court on May 18 for Money Laundering Investigation

Self-styled godman Ashok Kharat will be produced before a Mumbai court on May 18, following a warrant issued by a special court at the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court directed the superintendent of Nashik jail, where Kharat is currently lodged, to produce him with adequate security.

“The police authority concerned is directed to provide adequate police protection for the production of the accused before this court,” special judge R B Rote said.

Kharat, who was arrested in March following multiple complaints of sexual assault, has been in custody since. He was transferred to Nashik jail last week, and the court issued his production warrant on Monday. The ED moved the court in Mumbai earlier this month, stating that his arrest was necessary for a money-laundering investigation.

The ED’s plea stated that Kharat's arrest was crucial to identify the ultimate beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime. “He is the main person who extorted the money from the victims spanning across Maharashtra through religious manipulation,” the ED alleged. The ED also conducted searches and raids on entities linked to him.

During searches conducted in April at Kharat’s residential and office premises, documents related to real estate businesses and properties were found and are being scrutinized to trace the money trail. The ED alleged that Kharat had extorted huge amounts of money from his “devotees/victims,” and his custody is needed to investigate others linked with him.

It has been alleged that Kharat opened 60 bank accounts in the names of various individuals, with his own mobile number linked to them and himself as the sole nominee. The probe showed that Kharat got 43 accounts opened in one day with a co-operative credit society in 2021. These accounts were opened using documents of “devotees” and others without their consent, with transactions of more than Rs 70 crore seen in them, the ED alleged.

The other FIRs against Kharat claim victims were duped through deceptive practices and claims of sale of items having “divine healing powers,” such as wild tamarind seeds, sold at a high value.

Kharat will now be produced before the court on May 18, after which the ED will formally arrest him and seek his custody for further investigation.