Inside ‘godman’ Kharat’s network: 130 bank accounts opened with spurious documents, Rs 63 crore moved | Mumbai News
5 min readMumbai, NashikUpdated: Apr 10, 2026 09:25 AM IST
It was when he received a call from Ahilyanagar police earlier this month, says a Mumbai-based hotelier, that he came to know that more than Rs 2.43 crore had been routed through four bank accounts in his and his wife’s names – accounts he says he never opened, in a credit society he and his family had never seen or visited.
He believes documents he had shared for “darshan booking” with arrested ‘godman’ Ashokkumar Eknath Kharat had been misused to open these accounts. “We visited Kharat as we thought he was a spiritual healer,” says the hotelier.
Investigators believe he is just one of many people whose accounts were similarly used to “route” money, with the probe into Kharat – which began with charges of sexual assault, cheating, extortion and under the anti-superstition Act – expanding to his finances. Apart from 13 police cases, he faces a case of money laundering registered by the Enforcement Directorate.
Complaints along with bank records accessed by The Indian Express suggest that documents collected from followers, visitors and even victims may have been used to open more than 130 such bank accounts. Transactions in these exceeded Rs 63 crore between 2021 and 2024, with Kharat listed as a nominee in at least a hundred accounts and his mobile number appearing across many of them.
The pattern is the same across cases – people got in touch with Kharat, to visit him or “consult” him for “predictions”; were told to hand over documentation such as Aadhaar and PAN cards and photographs; bank accounts were opened using these documents; and funds deposited into them.
Incidentally, a majority of the accounts into which the money was received were opened in the name of the Jagdamba Cooperative Credit Society and Samata Nagari Sahakari Pat Sanstha, Rahata, both linked to Kharat.
While Kharat served as chairman of the Jagdamba society till 2024 as per records, the Samata society is linked to his associate and co-accused Arvind Pandurang Bawke. A bulk of the money transactions happened during their tenure.
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While more than a hundred suspect accounts have allegedly been traced to the Samata society, the number is around 32 in the case of Jagdamba.
Bawke is also under arrest over a cheating case in which Kharat and his wife are accused.
In some cases, multiple accounts were opened in the name of the same individuals, and several appear to have been opened within a short period.
Ahilyanagar SP Somnath Gharge said: “So far statements of 20 account holders have been recorded and they have said that accounts were opened without their knowledge and consent. Now we are doing a forensic examination of these accounts.”
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A woman who has alleged sexual assault and forced miscarriage by Kharat is believed to have told investigators that her papers, along with those of her family members, were used for documentation linked to a credit society. She said she was made to sign documents related to the society despite resistance.
Another complainant has filed a case linked to a land dispute. Corporate filings show that Kharat is a director in Shree Vyankatesh Farmers Producer Company Limited, incorporated in December 2021. In March 2024, the company was empanelled as a State Level Agency for the procurement of agricultural produce under the MSP system through agencies such as NAFED. A farmer in Shirdi has alleged non-payment following procurement carried out through the company.
Investigators are examining whether financial flows reflected in some of the bank accounts are linked to transactions connected to the company.
Another firm, Bright Sparks Infra Private Limited, was incorporated in 2024 with the same individuals as appearing across the alleged network, including Bawke. Asked about this, Bawke told The Indian Express before his arrest that the company hoped to get government contracts, and that documentation and investment were handled by Kharat. “He took our papers and said we would start getting contracts after two years,” he said.
