The state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) filed a chargesheet of more than 1,200 pages in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case and two related cases in a court in Beed district on Thursday. The murder of Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, on December 9 last year has triggered a political firestorm as NCP minister Dhananjay Munde’s close aide Walmik Karad was arrested in connection with the related extortion case.
Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company in Beed. While seven individuals have been arrested for the crime, the primary accused, Krushna Andhale, remains at large. “The CID filed a chargesheet in sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case and two related cases. The chargesheet runs into more than 1,200 pages,” a public prosecutor said.
Three separate cases – murder of sarpanch, bid to extort money from Avaada company and assault on security guard of the firm – were registered at the Kej police station in Beed. The police have invoked Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against the accused in the murder case. Beed MP and NCP (SP) leader Bajrang Sonawane, however, questioned the hurry in filing the chargesheet. “Why are the police in so much hurry to file the chargesheet? I am stunned to see all this...” he said.
