'This Should Have Happened Much Earlier': Amruta Fadnavis Speaks On Actions Taken By Devendra Fadnavis-Govt In Ashok Kharat Case

Mumbai: Amruta Fadnavis has spoken out on the Ashok Kharat case, stating that while action has been taken, it should have come much earlier to prevent harm. Responding to a question on whether she felt proud of the strict action taken by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the case, she said there was 'no need to feel proud.'

While speaking exclusively to Zee24 Taas, she said, "There is no need to feel proud, because this action came after things had already escalated. It should have happened much earlier."

She added that if the public, media, or the local leaders had acted in time, the situation might not have reached this stage, and "many lives could have been saved." She further added, "Devendraji took steps as the matter reached him, but this should have happened much earlier."

Amruta Fadnavis Urges People to Believe In Themselves

Calling it a "terrible case," Amruta Fadnavis urged people to believe in themselves and said that blindly following self-styled godmen is not right. "We need to live with our eyes open," she added.

She further said during her interaction with the daily, "It is not right to believe in anyone with closed eyes. When we follow blindly, it can lead to serious consequences. We must stay aware and take guidance from our values and scriptures. Everything we need is within us, we are complete within ourselves."

Moreover, Amruta Fadnavis also appealed to people not to encourage such practices and said that such cases should be boycotted and reported to the police and authorities to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Meanwhile, in the Kharat case, the police have so far registered eight FIRs after receiving multiple complaints involving allegations of sexual assault, extortion, and circulation of objectionable material.

Kharat, who headed a temple trust at Mirgaon in Sinnar tehsil of Nashik district and was visited by several prominent political leaders, was arrested on March 18 after a 35-year-old woman accused him of repeated rape over a period of three years. It is also reported that the case will also be investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alongside the SIT.

Preliminary findings of the SIT revealed that Kharat is suspected to have handled a large-scale hawala racket and an illegal money-lending business involving transactions worth crores of rupees. With this, a total of 10 cases have been registered against Kharat, eight related to sexual assault and two to fraud.