ED finds ₹1.17cr in Ashok Kharat locker amid laundering probe
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) just found over ₹1.17 crore worth of valuables in a Nashik bank locker belonging to self-styled godman Ashok Kharat and his wife Kalpana.
Inside: gold jewelry worth ₹1.10 crore, $5,500 in cash (about ₹5.19 lakh), and silver jewelry valued at nearly ₹2 lakh, all part of a money laundering probe into Kharat's alleged criminal activities.
ED probes alleged ₹4-5cr extortion
The locker at Vishwas Cooperative Bank was sealed back in April and opened this week with Kharat's daughter present.
The ED is investigating claims that Kharat extorted ₹4-5 crore from a businessman and even forced him to hand over a luxury car in 2018-19.
Earlier searches turned up frozen funds totaling ₹2.4 crore, stacks of cash, 90 property documents, and a Mercedes-Benz SUV, suggesting the money trail runs deep.