New cheating case registered against astrologer Kharat in Sinnar

Nashik: The Sinnar police registered an FIR against astrologer Ashok Kharat on charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust late on Monday after a man alleged his bank account was fraudulently opened and misused for transactions of over Rs 57 lakh.According to the police, the complainant, a 45-year-old private employee from Ghotewadi in Sinnar taluka, claimed he had never met Kharat, but later discovered that an account had been opened in his name and used to route transactions between 2016 and 2023 without his knowledge.The case came to light during an ongoing probe by the Shirdi police into separate cheating and illegal moneylending cases against Kharat. During the investigation, it was found that Kharat allegedly held 32 accounts at a non-agricultural credit society in Sinnar. The Shirdi police subsequently forwarded the relevant documents to the Sinnar police for further action.This is the 16th case registered against Kharat so far. Of these, 11 cases are with the Sarkarwada police station — nine of which are being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT). One case each has been registered at Shirdi, Rahata and Srirampur police stations in Ahilyanagar district, while two cases are now with the Sinnar police.Based on the complaint, the police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating and criminal breach of trust against Kharat, as well as the manager and others associated with the credit society.The complainant alleged that the credit society officials and its board of directors failed to verify mandatory documents such as Aadhaar and PAN cards while opening the account. He also said the society did not follow norms requiring references from two individuals familiar with the account holder.Inspector Hemantkumar Bhamre, of the Sinnar police station, said that, as per the directions of the superintendent of police, the case will either be investigated by the Sinnar police or handed over to the SIT, which is already probing multiple cases linked to the astrologer.