'Godman’ Kharat’s aide, wife killed in Samruddhi Expressway crash; son injured

Jailed self-styled godman Ashok Kharat’s close aide and his wife were killed after their car rammed into a stationary container truck on the Mumbai–Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district on Friday, police said.

The victims were identified as Jitendra Shelke (55) and his wife Anuradha (50). Their son was seriously injured.

The accident took place around noon near Dhotre village under Kopargaon police limits, about 250 km from Mumbai.

Shelke, who was driving, was travelling with his family to Thane from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar when he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a truck parked on the roadside, officials said.

All three sustained grievous injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital, where Shelke and his wife were declared dead on arrival. Their son is undergoing treatment.

Shelke was a close associate and business partner of Kharat, who is facing charges including rape and fraud. He also served as vice-president of the Shivanika Trust set up by the godman.

Police have registered an accidental death case and said a crash analysis will be conducted with the help of RTO officials and automobile experts to determine the cause.