Retired Merchant Navy officer held for raping woman in Nashik
Nashik, Mar 18 (PTI): A retired Merchant Navy officer was arrested in Nashik on Wednesday for allegedly raping a woman for over three years, police said.
Accused Ashokkumar Kharat, a self-proclaimed astrologer, had several leaders from Maharashtra politics visit him over the years.
Altogether 58 videos, including some objectionable clips, stored in a pendrive have been recovered from Kharat, who used to call himself “Captain”, police said.
Kharat, who is also the chairman of Shree Ishaneshwar Mahadev Temple Trust at Mirgaon in Sinnar taluka of Nashik district, allegedly sexually assaulted the 35-year-old complainant between November 2022 and December 2025.
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Citing the FIR, police said Kharat used to call the woman to his office located in the upscale Canada Corner area in Nashik, claiming his predictions pointed to “threats” to her husband’s life. He would allegedly offer her sedative-laced drinks and rape her.
Kharat has been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections concerning rape and criminal intimidation, and the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, said officials.
Many politicians and well-known individuals had visited the astrologer in the past.
The then Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, accompanied by his cabinet colleagues Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Deepak Kesarkar, had met Kharat at the Mirgaon temple in November 2022.
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Rupali Chakankar, current chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women, had also visited him.
Though 58 video clips stored in a pendrive have been recovered from Kharat, a few are objectionable, said police. Many of the other videos in the pendrive feature Kharat’s interactions with politicians and prominent personalities, they said.
Police said an investigation is underway.
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No unannounced load shedding in Kerala, outages due to overload, says Minister
Palakkad (PTI): Kerala Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Saturday said there was no unannounced load shedding in the state, attributing recent power interruptions to temporary overload caused by high consumption.
Clarifying concerns raised from various parts of the state, the minister said the disruptions are not deliberate but occur when demand peaks, particularly between 10 pm and 11 pm.
"It is not being done intentionally. Power consumption has risen sharply, and when there is excessive and indiscriminate usage, the system experiences overload, leading to natural supply interruptions," he told reporters here.
His remarks come amid complaints that several areas have been witnessing frequent power cuts, often lasting around 15 minutes and occurring multiple times during the night.
Krishnankutty said the state's power demand has crossed 6,195 MW, putting pressure on the supply system. He added that around 70 per cent of Kerala's electricity is procured from outside, and existing power banking arrangements have been exhausted.
"We have approached the Regulatory Commission seeking permission to purchase more power. However, this will come at a higher cost," he said.
The minister said the government is trying to avoid increasing electricity tariffs and urged consumers to exercise restraint in usage to help manage the situation.
Responding to opposition criticism over the ruling LDF's earlier claims of a decade without power cuts, he said the current situation is not unique to Kerala.
A power crisis is emerging across the country, he said, and sarcastically asked the Opposition to take note of the role of natural factors in this.
Krishnankutty expressed confidence that the situation would improve within two days, while cautioning that long-term energy security would depend on enhancing in-state power generation.
He also warned that future generations could face serious challenges if adequate electricity production capacity is not developed within Kerala.
