Mungantiwar Demands Capital Punishment For Godman Kharat
Kharat, arrested on March 18, has been named in at least eight FIRs following complaints by several women.
Mumbai: Senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Saturday demanded capital punishment for self-styled godman Ashok Kharat, who has been arrested on charges of repeatedly raping multiple women devotees. Kharat, arrested on March 18, has been named in at least eight FIRs following complaints by several women. Condemning the alleged acts as “barbaric,” Mr. Mungantiwar said such offenders did not deserve leniency and should face the harshest punishment. He said the accused had insulted the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and outraged the dignity of women, calling it an affront to Maharashtra’s values.
The alleged crimes, which took place in the Sinnar area of Nashik district, have sparked widespread outrage and triggered strong political reactions across party lines. Mr. Mungantiwar, a former finance minister of Maharashtra, expressed anger over the case, terming it “an insult to the Maharashtra of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.” He said, “For such fraudulent godmen, the law should be changed for a day to allow punishment by pricking him with needles until death.”
Kharat, who claimed expertise in numerology and cosmology, allegedly ran his operations under the guise of the ‘Shree Ishaneshwar Temple’, part of the Sri Shivnika Sansthan in Mirgaon, Sinnar, after retiring from the Merchant Navy. The case came to light after a 35-year-old woman filed a complaint alleging rape. The State government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under IPS officer Tejaswi Satpute to probe the case. Kharat is currently in police custody.
Reiterating his demand for the harshest punishment, Mr. Mungantiwar said, “I am a law-abiding citizen, but when I watch and hear about the horrific acts of Ashok Kharat on television, even I feel he should not get any legal leniency. ‘No court, no chargesheet’; he should be publicly hanged after being pricked with needles.”
Mr. Mungantiwar added that despite society teaching the ideals of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Savitribai Phule and Shahu Maharaj, such fraudulent godmen continue to exploit devotees and defame the Hindu religion. “Maharashtra is the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, where women are given a place next to the divine. By insulting women, the self-styled godman has insulted both God and the State,” he said.
The BJP leader said strict action must serve as a warning to others. “Let this be a message to all such fraudulent godmen across the country: your end is certain,” he added.
