India, March 20 -- The arrest of 67-year-old self-styled godman and numerologist Ashok Kharat, popularly known as 'Captain' for his background in merchant navy, has pulled back the curtain on a sprawling Rs.100-crore empire built on faith, fear, and political patronage.

After allegations of sexual exploitation emerged, Kharat's rise from a modest astrology practice in the late 1990s to a consultant charging up to Rs.50 lakh per visit is now at the heart of a comprehensive probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

After 22 years in the merchant navy, upon returning to his native village of Kahandalwadi in Sinnar tehsil of Maharashtra, Ashok Kharat began using his communication skills to establish a niche for himself, HT has reported. ...