THANE, May 9 -- The Kolhapur Police have arrested Mahesh Aher, a suspended Assistant Municipal Commissioner (AMC) of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), who had been absconding since April 20 after an FIR was registered against him for the alleged sexual exploitation of a female civic staffer. He has since been taken into custody by the Kasarvadavali police. According to the complaint, Aher allegedly subjected the woman to repeated sexual exploitation over several years and also took her to the ashram of controversial self-styled godman Ashok Kharat in Nashik, where certain alleged aghori rituals involving her were conducted. Police are also probing the alleged rituals and Aher's association with Kharat. According to the Kolhapur police, Aher was arrested during a late-night "All Out" operation jointly carried out across Kolhapur on Wednesday night and early Thursday under the supervision of Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Nilotpal and other senior officers. The operation involved more than 200 police personnel, who conducted simultaneous raids at hotels, bars, lodges and other establishments across the city as part of a large-scale crackdown. During the operation, police received a tip-off that Aher was hiding at Annapurna Hotel. Acting on the information, the raiding team reached the hotel and apprehended him. Following the arrest, the Kolhapur Police informed the Thane Crime Branch, whose officers later took custody of the accused for further investigation. Aher was arrested in connection with a case registered at the Kasarvadavali Police Station following a complaint filed by a woman employed as a data entry operator with the TMC. In her statement, the complainant alleged that Aher sexually exploited her between 2020 and 2023 by misusing his official position and authority. According to the FIR, Aher allegedly first took the woman to a flat on Ghodbunder Road under the pretext of discussing a residential arrangement. Once there, he allegedly offered her a cold drink laced with an intoxicating substance and sexually assaulted her. The complainant further alleged that Aher recorded objectionable videos of the incident on his mobile phone and later used the footage to blackmail and threaten her. She claimed that she was repeatedly sexually exploited by the accused at multiple locations over an extended period under coercion and intimidation. During the investigation, the woman also informed police that Aher had taken her to the office and ashram linked to Ashok Kharat in Nashik, where certain religious and alleged aghori rituals were performed. Investigators are now examining the nature of the relationship between Aher and Kharat and whether any additional offences were committed in connection with those activities. Amarsinh Jadhav, deputy commissioner of police (Crime Branch), Thane, said, "He was taken into custody on Thursday by the Thane Crime Branch and was produced before a local court in Thane on Friday. The court remanded him to four days of police custody. Further investigation in the case is in progress."...