Police provide protection to arrested astrologer’s office boy, reports suggest he possessed crucial info

Nashik: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the rape case against astrologer Ashok Kumar Kharat on Friday provided police protection to his office boy, Neeraj Jadhav, amid reports suggesting that he possessed crucial information about Kharat's alleged misconduct.A senior police officer said Jadhav had earlier been reported missing, but SIT managed to trace him on Friday. He has now been placed under police protection, and officers have begun debriefing him. After an FIR was lodged against Kharat, reports surfaced suggesting that Jadhav held important material linked to the astrologer's alleged offences. The police eventually located him and extended protection to ensure the safety of both him and his family, enabling him to speak freely about what he knew.According to the senior police officer, Kharat had allegedly learned that Jadhav possessed evidence that could put him in serious trouble. In an attempt to shield himself, Kharat reportedly instigated a complaint against Jadhav at the Shirdi police station on Feb 18, filed through a woman.In her complaint, the woman alleged that she had visited an office three years ago where Jadhav worked. She accused him of sending her an AI-generated obscene image two to three weeks before she filed the complaint, threatening to make it viral. A week later, she said she received another threat from an unidentified person involving an AI-morphed video. Believing Jadhav was behind the threats, she filed a case at the Shirdi police station.The Shirdi police registered an FIR under sections 66(E) and 67(A) of the IT Act, and Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS.Separately, on Dec 29, 2025, the Wavi police in Nashik Rural registered another FIR under sections 66(E) and 67(A) of the IT Act and Section 308 (extortion) of the BNS. In that case, Kharat alleged that he had received videos and photos on his phone depicting him in vulgar acts with four women. He claimed that the senders were demanding Rs 5 crore to prevent the videos from being circulated online and damaging his reputation.IG Manoj Kumar Sharma (law and order) told TOI, "The two cases registered with the Shirdi and Wavi police, and the one recently registered with the Sarkarwada police station in Nashik, are interconnected. This is why the SIT has been formed."Although there have been reports suggesting the existence of more than 58 objectionable videos involving Kharat and multiple women, senior officers said such material had not yet been recovered.Following a complaint by a 28-year-old woman, the Nashik city police arrested the 67-year-old astrologer on charges of rape. The complainant alleged that Kharat repeatedly sexually exploited her between 2022 and 2025, claiming to have "Godly powers" and threatening that her family would be destroyed and she would be separated from her husband if she refused to maintain physical relations with him.