Pune/ Nashik, April 1 -- A 55-year-old farmer from Shirdi in Ahilyanagar district has accused arrested self-styled godman Ashok Kharat of fraudulently taking over his four acres of land worth Rs.10 crore. The complainant, Raosaheb Gondkar, lodged a complaint at Shirdi police station on Tuesday. He also named Kharat's wife Kalpana and three aides - Kiran Sonawane, Ashok Tambe and Arvind Bawke - alleging their involvement in the fraud. Based on the complaint, Shirdi police registered an FIR against all five under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Maharashtra Money Lending (Regulation) Act, 2014. Sonawane and Bawke have been arrested and remanded to three days of police custody. With this, the total number of cases against Kharat has risen to 11. Of these, 10 FIRs are registered at Sarkarwada police station in Nashik city and are being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by IPS officer Tejaswi Satpute, while the Shirdi case will be investigated by the local police. Shirdi SDPO Amol Bharati confirmed that the case is under probe. According to the complaint, Sonawane introduced Gondkar to Kharat in August 2023 when the farmer was seeking a loan at 2% monthly interest to repay existing dues to a Shirdi-based cooperative credit society. Gondkar had initially taken a loan of Rs.15 lakh in 2019 but defaulted on repayments. In 2021, he and Sonawane jointly borrowed Rs.1.30 crore from the same credit society by mortgaging their land. As he continued to struggle with repayments, Sonawane introduced him to Kharat on August 23, 2023. Gondkar alleged that Kharat agreed to extend a loan but insisted on executing a sale deed for his four acres of land. Desperate for funds, he signed the document. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed, allowing Gondkar to buy back the land within a year by repaying the total amount with interest, which allegedly came to Rs.6.07 crore. Kharat subsequently cleared the outstanding loans of Gondkar and Sonawane - amounting to Rs.2.05 crore - to the credit society. He also paid Rs.3.46 lakh to Gondkar for the land, the complaint states. Gondkar further alleged that a few months later, Sonawane took eight signed blank cheques from him and paid Rs.1.65 crore as interest to Kharat, with Tambe and Bawke acting as intermediaries in handing over the cheques. The farmer claimed that since August 2024, he has been trying to contact Kharat to buy back his land but has been unable to reach him. He alleged that both Kharat and Sonawane avoided meeting him despite repeated attempts. Gondkar also visited Kharat's office in Nashik city, but found it locked. Kharat's wife Kalpana did not respond to calls or messages seeking her version. Police sources said a team visited Kharat's residence in Nashik to arrest Kalpana, but she was not found there. "Our team is working to arrest the remaining accused, including Kalpana," a Shirdi police officer said....