Maharashtra politicians are facing scrutiny after allegations surfaced regarding their connections to Ashok Kharat, a self-styled godman accused of rape, based on leaked phone records.
Key Points
- Activist Anjali Damania alleges Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde exchanged calls with rape-accused godman Ashok Kharat.
- Call Detail Records (CDR) reveal alleged communication between Kharat and several Maharashtra politicians, including BJP and NCP leaders.
- Former Maharashtra State Commission for Women chairperson Rupali Chakankar resigned after her association with Kharat came to light.
- Politicians defend their interactions with Kharat, stating that making phone calls or meeting someone is not a crime unless there is complicity.
- Authorities are investigating the allegations, with CDR copies forwarded to the Chief Minister and Director General of Police.
Activist Anjali Damania on Friday alleged that at least 17 calls were exchanged between Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and rape-accused godman Ashok Kharat during unspecified period in the past.
Some BJP and NCP leaders too had spoken with the self-styled godman -- who was arrested last month -- on phone, she told a Marathi news channel.
Reacting to the allegations, state minister Uday Samant who belongs to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena said that making phone calls to a person is not a crime.
Damania claimed that she received Kharat's CDR (Call Detail Records) on WhatsApp from an unknown number.
"There were 17 calls between Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and Ashok Kharat," she said without specifying the period, adding that the longest conversation lasted for 21 minutes.
She also claimed that as per the CDR, after his wife Kharat spoke the longest on phone with NCP leader Rupali Chakankar. There were as many as 177 calls between Chakankar and Kharat, spread over 33,727 seconds, Damania said.
Chakankar resigned as chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women after her association with Kharat came to light. The NCP leader, who was a member of the temple trust which managed Kharat's temple at Mirgaon, has claimed that she was not aware of his alleged criminal activities.
Damania, meanwhile, further alleged that there were eight calls each between Kharat and BJP leader Chandrakant Patil and NCP leader Sunil Tatkare. There was also a call between Kharat and BJP minister Ashish Shelar, she claimed.
Asked for comment, senior BJP minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule contended that there was nothing wrong with making phone calls or meeting anyone, and criminal liability is determined only by complicity in the crime.
Samant, Eknath Shinde's party colleague, took the same stand. "No one should spread misinformation that making calls or meeting someone is a crime. Shiv Sena's stand is that Kharat-like tendencies should be destroyed," he told reporters.
According to Damania, Kharat also received calls from foreign locations including Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Virgin Islands (the US) and Christmas Island (Australia).
She has forwarded copies of the CDR to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Director General of Police Sadanand Date and IPS officer Tejaswi Satpute who is heading the Special Investigation Team probing the cases against Kharat, she said.
The self-styled godman was arrested in March after a married woman accused him of raping her repeatedly over three years. A total of eight FIRs have been registered against him so far.
After his arrest, Kharat's photos with prominent Maharashtra politicians including Shinde and Chakankar went viral. Shinde, then Maharashtra Chief Minister, had visited Kharat's temple in 2022.
