Pune/Nashik, April 22 -- A fresh cheating case was registered on Monday against the arrested "godman" Ashok Kharat at Sinnar police station for allegedly opening 32 fake accounts at a cooperative credit society in Kundewadi village of Sinnar tehsil in Nashik district, police confirmed on Tuesday. Police said Kharat allegedly opened the accounts between August 2016 and October 2023 and carried out transactions worth over Rs.57.9 lakh through them. Narayan Ghotekar, one of the 32 persons in whose names the accounts were allegedly opened, filed a complaint against Kharat and the credit society's board of directors, manager, and staff. Based on the complaint, Sinnar police registered a first information report (FIR) under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating, misappropriation and related offences. The FIR does not name the directors, manager or staff. Nashik rural superintendent of police Balasaheb Patil said Kharat is accused of forging the signatures of 32 individuals to open the accounts. "We have informed the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the Kharat case, about the fresh FIR," Patil said. Police will investigate whether Kharat acted in connivance with the credit society's management and whether the accounts were opened without mandatory documents such as PAN and Aadhaar cards or using forged documents. During a probe in one of the cheating cases, Shirdi police in Ahilyanagar came across details of the 32 accounts at the Sinnar-based credit society, where Kharat was listed as nominee in all accounts. "The Shirdi police shared details of these accounts for verification. When we contacted some of the account holders, they said they neither knew Kharat nor were aware that accounts had been opened in their names. One of them then filed a complaint," a police officer said. A total of 16 FIRs have been registered against Kharat so far for offences including sexual abuse, cheating and extortion - 13 in Nashik and three in Ahilyanagar. Of the 13 cases in Nashik, nine are being probed by the SIT, in which Kharat is accused of sexually abusing and harassing women on the pretext of resolving their personal problems. Earlier, Kharat was arrested by Nashik police on March 18 following the first complaint lodged by a woman at Sarkarwada police station. He is currently in SIT custody....