Nab sarpanch murder accused first, then talk of not sparing anyone: Sena (UBT) leader

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve on Thursday said the Maharashtra government should first arrest the absconding accused in sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder case and then say it would not spare any of the culprits.

The leader of opposition in the state legislative council targeted the Devendra Fadnavis government as one of the accused in the murder case was still at large after one month of the incident.

In a post on X, Danve said that Chief Minister Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio, keeps saying they will not spare anyone involved in the case, but for that they have to first nab the absconding accused.

Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured, and murdered on December 9, allegedly in retaliation for his efforts to prevent extortion attempts against an energy firm linked to a windmill project. As part of the investigation, police have so far arrested seven persons connected to the case.

One of the accused is still at large.

Walmik Karad, an associate of Maharashtra NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, has been arrested in a related extortion case.

Targeting the government, Danve said a month has passed since the murder of sarpanch Deshmukh, but a 23-year-old person, the sixth accused in the case, has still not been found by police.

On the other hand, the state government is also not asking for minister Dhananjay Munde's resignation despite public demand. The government is so "stubborn", the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader claimed.

"Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis says they will not spare anyone in this case. Sparing someone or not is the later part, for that you have to nab the accused first," he said.

In another matter, family members of Dalit man Somnath Suryavanshi, who died in judicial custody in Parbhani last month, on Wednesday refused to accept the Rs 10 lakh aid from the CM Relief Fund citing their struggle for justice.

Targeting the state government over it, Danve in another post on X said Suryavanshi's family members are seeking justice, not the financial assistance, as they claim his killers are roaming freely.

"Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis always keeps giving some or the other quotes. Even I want to tell him a quote that 'justice delayed is justice denied'," the opposition leader added.

Suryavanshi (35) died in judicial custody after he was arrested in connection with violence in Parbhani city of Maharashtra over the desecration of the glass-encased replica of the Constitution last December.