Beed: The ongoing trial in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case saw intense arguments in the Beed District Court on Friday. The prosecution strongly opposed an application filed by the accused, Jairam Chate, seeking permission to attend religious rituals following the recent death of his brother.
Assistant Special Public Prosecutor Adv. Balasaheb Kolhe argued against granting the plea, citing potential law and order risks. Chate had sought permission to attend a ritual scheduled for March 13 in Maindwadi village in Dharur tehsil. However, the prosecution pointed out that Maindwadi is located just 3 km from Kaij town, suggesting that the proximity could lead to a volatile situation.
“If any untoward incident occurs, who will be held responsible?” the prosecution asked. It also noted that the application lacked supporting documents such as a death certificate or an affidavit from the family.
The courtroom also witnessed heated arguments regarding the sharing of digital evidence.
Defence counsels Adv. Sachin Shep and Adv. Rahul Munde accused the prosecution of delaying the trial by not providing a copy of the hard disc containing evidence.
Refuting the allegations of deliberate delay, the prosecution returned the blank pen drives earlier submitted to the court. These will now be sent to the forensic laboratory, where the data will be transferred before being formally submitted by the investigating officer and handed over to the defence.
The court also rejected a separate application seeking the transfer of Vishnu Chate from Latur Jail to Beed Jail. Adv. Kolhe clarified that since a similar request had previously been rejected on technical grounds, it could not be reconsidered.
The court was informed that the Supreme Court had dismissed the bail application of another accused, Walmik Karad.
With several procedural matters still pending, the court has scheduled the next hearing for March 24.
