30 April,2026 01:14 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Following a complaint lodged by the woman on April 24, the police launched an investigation and traced the accused to Ghoti in Nashik district. Representational pic
Navi Mumbai Police have arrested two self-styled godmen from Nashik for allegedly cheating a woman of Rs 1.9 lakh on the pretext of performing "black magic" and other rituals to ward off her troubles, news agency PTI reported, quoting an officer.
The accused, who claimed to be from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, had contacted the 27-year-old woman of Diwale village in Navi Mumbai and convinced her that she was facing serious life problems requiring special pujas and rituals to overcome them.
"Under the guise of performing âaghori' practices, they defrauded her of Rs 1.47 lakh in cash and Rs 43,000 through online transfers between September and December 2025," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-II, Belapur) Amit Kale told reporters on Wednesday.
Following a complaint lodged by the woman on April 24, the police launched an investigation and traced the accused to Ghoti in Nashik district, where they were arrested, he said.
The accused have been identified as Arjun Bharat Chavan alias Tantan Baba (21) and Sagar Shivaji Shinde alias Ekalhari Baba (24).
The duo has been booked under sections 318(4) (cheating) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, the police said.
A Nashik court on Wednesday remanded self-styled astrologer-cum-godman Ashok Kharat in judicial custody till May 12 in the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
Kharat allegedly sexually exploited several women and indulged in large-scale financial fraud by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic.
In the seventh case, he is accused of sexually exploiting a married woman who had approached him seeking solutions to her family problems.
The accused allegedly gave the woman something to drink, sexually assaulted her while her husband waited outside his office, and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incident., reported PTI.
On Monday, the court had sent Kharat to the custody of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) till Wednesday in this case. He was produced before the court after the end of his police custody.
Due to security concerns, the proceedings were conducted via video conferencing.
(With PTI inputs)
