Pratibha Chakankar, her son grilled for over six hours by Ahilyanagar police

Nashik: Pratibha Chakankar, sister of former state women's commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar, was interrogated along with her son, Tanmay, for nearly six hours at the Shirdi police station on Monday. The questioning was in connection with four accounts held in their names at a credit society in Rahata, Ahilyanagar, which saw transactions exceeding Rs2crore.The Shirdi police are currently investigating two cases of cheating and illegal money lending registered against astrologer Ashok Kharat. One case was filed at the Shirdi police station, while the other is being handled by the Rahata police.During investigation, police uncovered more than 100 accounts linked to Kharat, through which transactions worth over Rs60 crore were conducted after 2021.Pratibha and Tanmay Chakankar arrived at the Shirdi police station at approximately 8:45 am. The inquiry was conducted by additional SP (Ahilyanagar) Somnath Waghchoure and a specialised team from the Shirdi police. During the session, the mother and son were presented with bank records showing Rs2 crore movement in the credit society accounts.Speaking to TOI, SP Somnath Gharge confirmed the interrogation but noted that the duo denied any involvement. "The mother-son duo was questioned for nearly six hours. However, they denied having any role in the accounts at the credit society," Gharge said.Pratibha Chakankar reportedly told investigating officers that she had neither opened nor operated the accounts and was entirely unaware when they were created. She claimed that during a visit to the astrologer about two years ago, they had submitted their Aadhaar and PAN cards. She suggested that these documents may have been misused to open the accounts without her consent or knowledge.