The Enforcement Directorate on Monday raided 11 premises in Maharashtra in connection with its probe into the money laundering case linked to Nashik-based
self-styled godman Ashok Kharat, who has been accused of sexually exploiting several women.

The Maharashtra government has constituted a special investigation team of police officers to probe Kharat’s alleged crime and financial dealings. According to investigative agencies, Kharat leveraged his influence and political-social connections to gain the trust of women, subsequently exploiting them under the guise of spiritual rituals.

Sources said five premises in Kharat’s hometown Nashik and three each in Pune and Shirdi were raided on Monday. Residential and commercial premises linked to him, his chartered accountant Prakash Pophale, Kharat’s relatives and some cooperative credit society branches were searched.

“The agency is probing Kharat’s financial transactions. The case was based on an extortion FIR registered in Nashik against Kharat, where a real estate businessman alleged that the accused extorted around ₹5 crore from him between 2018 and 2019,” said an agency official. Kharat is in a Nashik jail.