Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Rupali Chakankar on Friday resigned from the position of party’s Maharashtra women’s wing chief. Chakankar has been under fire over her links with self-proclaimed spiritual leader and astrologer Ashok Kharat who has been arrested for raping a woman and exploiting many others.
The development comes days after she resigned from her position as Maharashtra State Women’s Commission chairperson.
In her resignation letter, Chakankar said she has urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar and Director General of Police (DGP) Sadanand Vasant Date to ensure that a transparent and impartial probe is conducted. She said she is resigning from position after a discussion with Pawar over a phone call earlier this morning.
“I have made my position clear on the first day itself regarding the Kharat case. There is no remote connection between his financial transactions and his misconduct,” Chakankar stated. “Even today, my stance remains the same-clear and firm. All these matters will certainly be resolved during the investigation. The false, untrue allegations being made through the media without any evidence are painful. The truth will surely be established with full force.”
Probe against Kharat continues
While Chakankar has resigned from her position, the probe against Kharat has continued, with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) receiving more than 50 calls in last five days against the self-proclaimed godman over the alleged crimes committed by him. This comes after the SIT published two mobile phone numbers for people to share details against Kharat’s offences.
Kharat was arrested earlier this month following a complaint by a 35-year-old woman, who accused him of rape for three years. Following this, eight first information reports (FIRs) were registered against Kharat, who heads a temple trust at Sinnar in the Nashik district.
The SIT has also recovered revolver, 21 cartridges and five empty shells from his possession. Along with this, Rs 6 lakh in cash, two laptops and some documents were also seized from Kharat, who will remain in police custody till March 29 following an order by a Nashik court.
“The SIT has discovered 100 objectionable videos and assets worth around Rs 1,500 crore related to him,” news agency PTI quoted an official as saying. “While the I-T department is investigating financial irregularities and property holdings of Kharat and people related to him, the cyber police are examining the videos.”
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