MUMBAI: Following the arrest of Nashik-based self-styled godman Ashok Kharat on March 18, on charges of rape, sexual exploitation and extortion, a major crackdown ensued across Maharashtra in a hunt for similar culprits. Around a dozen such cases came to the fore last month leading to arrests.
Police say, most of the accused project themselves of having supernatural powers and prey on emotionally vulnerable devotees promising miracle cures – the victims either sexually or monetarily exploited. The police crackdown extended from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to other cities and small towns across the state.
Officials from the state home department said the number of arrests underscores the alarming scale of exploitation being carried out in the name of spirituality and blind faith.
Hamid Dabholkar, a prominent member and an active campaigner of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), one of the country’s leading organisations fighting superstitious practices, and which played a key role in bringing the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act in the state, said the rules for effective implementation of the act are yet to be formulated.
“We have been demanding these rules for more than 12 years, but there has been no serious response. Recently, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis gave us an assurance; we are waiting,” said Dabholkar, son of slain rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar.
“We also want the state government to bring astrologers in the ambit of the act, as many self-styled godmen begin their so-called spiritual journey as astrologers before gradually moving towards black magic and exploitative practices — Ashok Kharat being the latest example of this pattern,” he said.
1 The Seven Godmen
Who:
Rajendra Bapu Gadge, 51
Claim:
Administering miracle cures
Place: Ahilyanagar
Arrested: April 18, 2026
Rajendra Bapu Gadge, a self-styled godman who ran the Dattadham Sarkar ashram in Vadgaon Pan village, in Sangamner, Ahilyanagar, was arrested for allegedly cheating a number of people and practicing black magic, following a complaint by MANS.
An investigating officer from Sangamner Gramin police station said Gadge gained popularity by claiming he could cure incurable diseases such as cancer and paralysis, and help couples have children using “divine powers”. He allegedly extorted devotees, charging each between ₹15,000 to over ₹50,000 to perform rituals.
His operation was extensive. After the arrest, police recovered over 200 videos and around 90 kinds of medicines from the ashram for forensic analysis.
Police also found that Gadge and his family own at least 13 properties across Sangamner, Rahata and Nevasa, along with 10 bank accounts. The ashram has been sealed as the probe continues.
He has been booked under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, of BNS section 318, the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, and the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, 1961.
His associate Madhukar Shinde has also been arrested, among others.
2
Who:
Manohar Bhosale, 47
Claim:
An incarnation of ‘Balumama’, a spiritual figure
Place:
Solapur
Arrested:
April 24, 2026
Once a dried fish seller, Manohar Bhosale alias Manohar Mama reinvented himself into a self-styled godman around 2015. He was recently arrested by Solapur police on multiple allegations of fraud and rape.
A native of Lasurne in Indapur taluka, Bhosale failed his D.Ed exams following which he became a dried fish seller. He disappeared for a year in 2016 only to resurface claiming to be an incarnation of ‘Balumama’, a spiritual figure, and set up an ashram in Undargaon, attracting many followers.
He was arrested by Solapur rural police following a complaint by a real estate businessman, who was allegedly duped into paying ₹2 lakh for an ‘Aghori puja’ and ₹50,000 for a monastery after being promised success in his business through black magic on a video call.
He was arrested under relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, BNS section 318 for cheating, among others.
He has reportedly built a luxurious ashram spread over 27 acres in Ghoti village in Solapur where he cultivated guava, mango and coconut. He was known to exploit his devotees by selling a single guava from his ashram for ₹2,000 and a box of twelve mangoes for ₹3,000 as “prasad”.
Investigating officers said there are cases of rape, sexual exploitation and cheating registered against him across Solapur, Karmala, Baramati and Daund. He allegedly cheated a man ₹2.51 lakh promising to cure his father’s cancer.
3
Who:
Rhythm Panchal, 37
Claim:
An ability to exorcise spirits
Place:
Mumbai
Arrested:
April 16, 2026
Until four years ago, Rhythm Panchal alias Monty was a gym trainer, who eventually reinvented himself as a ‘spiritual healer’, claiming to possess magical powers and the ability to exorcise spirits. Apart from money, he also allegedly demanded liquor, cigarettes, live chickens and goat livers from followers seeking ‘cures’.
Operating from a vacant plot in Malad (East), he is known to have held overnight ‘darbars’ twice a week, claiming to be possessed by a goddess. Investigating officers of Dindoshi police station said he lured dozens of women, including those seeking his help to conceive, under the guise of treatment.
His methods of performing ‘Aghori’ rituals with a cigarette lit in his mouth and insistence on expensive offerings, raised suspicion among locals and devotees. Following complaints from over 60 people, Dindoshi police arrested him under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act.
4
Who:
Mahesh Kakde, 31
Claim:
Curative powers
Place:
Nashik district
Arrested:
April 23, 2026
Self-styled godman Mahesh Kakde alias Maheshgiri was arrested last month on charges of sexually exploiting a 28-year-old woman in Nashik district.
Investigating officers of Lasalgaon police said, seeking help to solve her marital issues, the woman’s parents brought her to the Shri Datta Devsthan Mutt in Dharangaon (Khadak) near Lasalgaon, Nashik district. There, Maheshgiri allegedly told her that he has divine powers to cure people. Convincing her that she was under an evil influence, he made her perform rituals.
As time went by, he started sending her obscene messages and allegedly exploited her.
According to police, he took her to a lodge, where he sexually assaulted her and clicked objectionable photographs. While the woman initially remained silent, activists from MANS gained her trust and helped her file a police complaint. He was arrested under the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act and BNS Act.
Police are now investigating Kakde has exploited others as well.
5
Who:
Rishikesh Vaidya, 40
Claim:
An incarnation of Lord Shiva
Place:
Palghar
Arrested:
March 28, 2026
A self-styled godman from Palghar district – Rishikesh Vaidya — was booked a couple of months ago for allegedly raping a 35-year-old woman, claiming to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva.
According to investigating officers of Pune police, Vaidya allegedly contacted the Pune-based woman on Facebook in early 2023 and met her in December. He convinced her that he was ‘Mahadev’ and she ‘Parvati’, and took her to a lodge in Manjari area, in Pune, where he allegedly drugged and raped her. He also took objectionable photos and used them to blackmail her.
He allegedly attempted to sexually assault her again in a hotel in Vasai. She eventually came forward to register an FIR against Vaidya after the arrest of Ashok Kharat, another self-styled godman, from Nashik on March 18.
Police registered a case against Vaidya under sections 64 for rape and 351 (2) for criminal intimidation of BNS Act. They are also probing if the accused is guilty of similar cases.
6
Who:
Ganesh Shinde, 41
Claim:
A spiritual healer
Place:
Ahilyanagar
Arrested:
April 27, 2026
A daily wage labourer who reinvented himself as a godman, Ganesh Shinde, was arrested in Ahilyanagar for alleged rape and extortion last month. Once a labourer, Shinde managed a sizeable following as a spiritual healer and operated from an ashram in Belapur, Ahilyanagar.
According to Shriram police, Ahilyanagar, a 35-year-old woman from the city approached him in earlier this year, seeking treatment for a persistent stomach ailment. She accused him of allegedly exploiting her trust.
Over three years, said investigating officers, Shinde allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted her, while threatening her with “curses” and a worsening condition, should she speak up. He also allegedly extorted ₹18–20 lakh from her as “offerings” for rituals.
Booked under relevant sections of the BNS for rape and extortion, and the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act , Shinde is now under investigation, with police probing whether other followers were similarly targeted.
7
Who:
Tantan Baba, 21, and Ekalhari Baba, 24
Claim:
Healing with black magic
Place:
Navi Mumbai
Arrested:
April 29, 2026
Police arrested two self-styled godmen — Arjun Bharat Chavan alias Tantan Baba and Sagar Shivaji Shinde alias Ekalhari Baba — from Nashik for allegedly duping a woman of ₹1.9 lakh through claims of black magic rituals and occult practices.
According to police, the accused targetted a 27-year-old woman from Diwale village in Navi Mumbai, convincing her that her personal problems could be resolved through special pujas and ‘aghori’ rituals. Deputy commissioner of police (Zone-II, Belapur) Amit Kale said the duo posed as practitioners from Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, and gained the woman’s trust before allegedly collecting ₹1.47 lakh in cash and ₹43,000 through online transfers between September and December 2025.
Following a complaint filed by the woman on April 24, police traced and arrested the accused in Ghoti, Nashik district. A case has been registered against the duo for cheating and common intention under the BNS Act, along with provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act.
