Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Éknáth Šinde. File | Photo credit: PTI
Social activist Anjali Damania on Friday (April 3, 2026) alleged that top politicians including Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Minister Sanjay Shirsat, Uddhav Thackeray’s close aide Milinda Narvekar were on Ashok Kharat’s list of arrested godmen. Kharat is currently lodged in Nashik jail on charges of black magic, rape, land grabbing etc.
There were 17 calls between Eknath Shinde and Ashok Kharat. Of these, 10 calls were made from Kharat to Mr. Shinde, while Mr. Shinde made seven calls to Kharat, Ms. Damania claimed based on the CDRs she claimed to be in possession of. Out of 17 calls, one call lasted 21 minutes.
The maximum number of calls was between NCP leader Rupali Chakankar and Ashok Kharat. There were 177 calls between the duo. Ms. Chakankar’s sister also spoke to Kharat 236 times.
Apart from these calls, talks were held with NCP state president Sunil Tatkar, BJP ministers Chandrakant Patil and Ashish Shelar. Shiv Sena UBT leader Milind Narvekar, who is considered a close associate of Uddhav Thackeray, also spoke to Kharat on several occasions, Ms. Damania said. She said telephonic interviews were also held with a senior IPS officer.
Published – 4 Apr 2026 04:43 IST
