Maharashtra Congress Pradesh Committee President Harshwardhan Sapkal alleged on Tuesday that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was informed about the crimes of arrested godman “Captain” Ashok Kharat as early as October 2025, but chose not to take any action.
“Around Diwali, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had received information about the fraud godman Ashok Kharat’s case. The Home Department is headed by Devendra Fadnavis. So, the question arises what he was doing for six months. Why did he fail to act,” Sapkal asked.
Talking to media persons in Buldhana on Tuesday, Sapkal said, “The kind of debate sparked by the ‘Captain’ Ashok Kharat case is not good for Maharashtra. Additional support must be given to SIT, a task force must be formed and strict action taken against the accused to bring the case to a conclusion”.
Sapkal’s statement came a day after Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut alleged that a photograph showing the arrested godman with Devendra Fadnavis has come to light and that some serving cabinet ministers regularly visited the godman. Shortly after Raut’s allegation, the chief minister told media persons that no conclusions about the case can be reached from photographs alone.
Stating that the godman could dupe people taking advantage of the superstitions prevailing among them, Sapkal said, “Everyone knows who is fuelling superstitions, creating conflicts between religions and castes and spreading hatred. The result is the emergence of people like Kharat”.
“Since 2014, Devendra Fadnavis has been the Home Minister, and it is during his tenure that such a menace has cropped up in Maharashtra. Even now, the chief minister is deliberately dragging the case to use it as leverage against his own alliance partners, which is condemnable. While Rupali Chakankar has resigned over the matter, action must also be taken against all others involved in the case,” he said.
“Now, even serving ministers of the ruling alliance are getting beaten up by the police. There is infighting within the ruling alliance itself. Ministers Shambhuraj Desai and Makarand Patil have claimed that they were assaulted by the police. The fact that the ministers themselves are being beaten in the state is a sign of democracy hitting the rock bottom. What happened in Satara also reaffirms allegations of vote theft,” he said.
Pointing out that Maharashtra was the first state in the country to enact a law against superstition, Sapkal said, “Dr Narendra Dabholkar fought against superstition throughout his life, and his work must be carried forward by taking a pledge to eradicate such practices so that people like Kharat never emerge again in Maharashtra.”