Activist Anjali Damania Justifies AI Use in Godman Case Amidst Controversy

Indian activist Anjali Damania defends her use of AI to analyse call data records in the Ashok Kharat case, sparking controversy and raising questions about political connections and financial irregularities.

Under fire from the Opposition, activist Anjali Damania on Monday claimed that she had used AI-based large language model (LLM) Claude to analyse call data records (CDR) of arrested self-styled godman Ashok Kharat.

Addressing a news conference here, Damania said she would never do anything illegal and slammed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for indulging in "politics of convenience".

Damania, who claimed to have received the CDR on WhatsApp from a person claiming to be a private detective, is under fire from Opposition parties, which sought an inquiry into how she managed to obtain the CDR. Fadnavis has said that the matter will be probed.

"I used AI LLM Claude to find out which person received how many calls from Kharat's mobile phone. I never do any illegal things. I had verified the Excel data through the AI tool before sharing the information with authorities," said Damania.

The self-styled godman-cum-astrologer 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.

A subsequent probe uncovered a host of crimes, including sexual assault and financial irregularities linked to land and other properties.

After his arrest, photos of Kharat with prominent Maharashtra politicians, including Shinde and NCP leader Rupali Chakankar, went viral. Shinde, then Maharashtra Chief Minister, had visited Kharat's temple in 2022.

Allegations and Political Connections

Citing the CDR, Damania has claimed that 17 calls were exchanged between Kharat, in jail since March 18, and Deputy CM Shinde during an unspecified period. She has also named other leaders like Chakankar and Sunil Tatkare, as well as BJP's Chandrakant Patil and Ashish Shelar.

The activist further claimed SMS alerts linked to transactions in Samata Credit Cooperative Society showed an unusual spike around the time of an alleged accident involving Ajit Pawar, a reference to the then deputy CM's death in a plane crash on January 28.

She alleged that 17 messages were received on January 27, followed by 19 the next day, and several more in the following days, which she claimed was not the usual pattern.

According to Damania, the messages indicated deposits or withdrawals in Kharat's account, and she urged probe agencies to ascertain the nature of these transactions, alleging a possible connection between the financial activity and the incident involving Ajit Pawar.

There is no point in contacting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over this issue, as he is only indulging in politics, Damania alleged.

"He is involved in politics of convenience. In Parth Pawar's Mundhawa land case, he (CM) sat on the report for nearly three months. It was released on the last day of the Budget session. These people do politics only; there is no point in meeting them. My hope lies with DGP (Director General of Police) Sadanand Date only," Damania added.

Source of the CDR and Further Investigation

Speaking about how she got the CDR, Damania said she received it from an unidentified individual who claimed to be a private detective.

"Activists are sometimes used (in this manner) to bring such information into the public domain. I have submitted the material to the police and have asked for a thorough probe," she told reporters.

In a related development, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare raised questions about the probe done by the SIT in the Kharat case.

"If information (regarding the case) reaches Anjali Damania and me, then why does it not reach the SIT. This work is expected from the SIT," the Sena UBT leader said.

She demanded that all names mentioned in the CDR should be probed.