Pune: Rupali Chakankar Moves Cyber Police Over Alleged ‘Obscene, Defamatory’ Social Media Posts Linking her to Ashok Kharat, Rupali Thombare Patil and Sangita Tiwari Among others Booked
Pune, 25th August 2026: Former Maharashtra State Commission for Women chairperson Rupali Chakankar has filed a complaint with the cyber police alleging that objectionable, defamatory and threatening content was circulated on social media linking her to a man arrested in a rape case in Nashik.
Based on Chakankar’s complaint, the cyber police have registered a case against several people, including Milind Maruti Gore and Sapna Nandkishor Raut, under various sections of the law, including provisions of the Information Technology Act. Police inspector Swapnali Chandrakant Shinde has been assigned the investigation.
According to the complaint, Chakankar, 43, had known Ashok Eknath Kharat, president of the Ishanyeshwar Mahadev Temple in Nashik, for around nine years after meeting him at a social event. She said she subsequently visited the temple for religious programmes.
Chakankar said she learnt through television and other media reports on March 18 that Kharat had been arrested in a rape case. She alleged that thereafter, photographs and videos of her attending public programmes with Kharat were circulated on social media and used to make unrelated allegations against her.
She further stated that while checking social media on March 20, she found allegedly defamatory, obscene and threatening posts on around 19 Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts.
The complaint names several people, including Sangita Tiwari, advocate Ashok Bedre, Ashwini Khade, Mahadev Balgude, Hanumant Galgate, Varsha Kamble, Rajashree Sarminder, Ganesh Lokhande, Hema Pingle, Ranjana Deshmukh, Logical Siddhant, Rupali Patil Thombre, Sushma Andhare, Yogesh Sawant, Dipali Sayyed, Dr Asha Mirge and Mohsin Shaikh, in connection with the alleged posts.
Chakankar has also alleged that Milind Gore, Sapna Raut and several others posted sexually explicit, obscene and abusive comments on the posts, which she said amounted to harassment and defamation.
She told police that the posts and comments had damaged her reputation and caused her mental distress and social humiliation. She submitted screenshots of the posts and comments, along with other documents, as evidence for the investigation.
Police have registered the case and initiated an investigation into the social media accounts and content identified in the complaint.
