Nashik Court Remands Ashok Kharat To Police Custody Till April 8 In Second Case
· Free Press Journal
Nashik: In connection with the second case registered against self-styled godman Ashok Kharat, the Nashik District and Sessions Court on Thursday remanded him to police custody till April 8. Kharat was produced before the court through video conferencing for the hearing.
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The SIT had filed an application seeking permission to present Kharat via video conference, citing security concerns, which was accepted by the court.
Permission was granted to the SIT to produce Kharat through VC, and four screens were installed inside the courtroom for the proceedings. The online hearing was conducted in the court of Judge B. N. Ichpurani. Investigating officer Kiran Kumar Suryavanshi and government pleader Adv. Shailendra Bagde presented arguments on behalf of the prosecution.
During the online hearing, the judge asked Kharat to state his name. As his voice was initially not audible, the judge asked him to speak louder. The judge further asked whether Bhathe was representing him as his lawyer, to which Kharat replied in the affirmative. At the end of the hearing, when the judge asked whether he wished to say anything, Kharat folded his hands and replied, “Nothing.”
Kharat appeared on the four large screens installed in the courtroom. He was seen wearing a pink T-shirt, with an overgrown beard, standing still with both hands clasped together.
Kharat’s lawyer strongly opposed the request for an additional seven days of police custody. The defence argued that this was the second case of a similar nature and that Kharat had already undergone 14 days of police custody in the earlier matter.
The lawyer further stated that the complaint in the present case had not yet been provided to the defence and that the alleged incident dates back to 2022, making further custody unnecessary.
On the other hand, the prosecution informed the court that Kharat was the “mastermind” and was not cooperating with the investigation. After hearing arguments from both sides and considering the seriousness of the offence, the court remanded Ashok Kharat to police custody till April 8.