Kharat & wife bought 4.5 hectares along earlier Shaktipeeth alignment in Solapur: Revenue officials

Kolhapur: Revenue officials from Solapur district on Sunday confirmed that Nashik astrologer Ashok Kharat, who faces multiple cases of sexual offences, black magic, cheating and illegal moneylending, and his wife, Kalpana, bought 4.5 hectares for Rs 2.4 crore at Kalman village, in the North Solapur tehsil of Solapur district, in 2024.The land is adjoining the earlier alignment of the Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway. However, the expressway's alignment was later changed."The deal was carried out in March 2023. The land, of market rate of Rs 79 lakh, was bought at Rs 2.4 crore for which the stamp duty of Rs 12.04 lakh was paid," one of the Solapur revenue officials, who did not wish to be named, told TOI.Revenue records showed that the wife of Kharat's chartered accountant also bought land along the alignment, near the land bought by Kharat and his wife. The chartered accountant has also filed a complaint of cheating against Kharat.The 7/12 extracts and land mutation records showed several prominent politicians and senior serving and retired officials got land during the same period, along the earlier alignment of the Shaktipeeth Expressway.Activists claim similar land buying was reported when the Samruddhi Expressway was coming up. However, they said that this time, due to pressure from farmers, especially from Kolhapur and Sangli districts and some parts of Solapur district, govt changed the alignment, and the Shaktipeeth now passes through Satara's Man-Khatav region.Anti-Shaktipeeth highway activists alleged that Kharat was among the people, including political leaders and officials, who bought land to reap the benefit in future."There were talks about the prominent people being on a land-buying spree. Now it is all coming to light. We oppose the highway since there exists a parallel Nagpur-Ratnagiri highway; secondly, it will destroy farmlands. But we are now realising that the prominent people knew about the alignment beforehand, and they wanted to take undue advantage. We are going to meet the revenue authorities and seek an investigation into the dealings. In cases like Kharat's, we believe the money spent on buying land is crime proceeds," said Ganesh Khodke, the convenor of anti-Shaktipeeth highway forum from Solapur.