Sarpanch murder: Bid to foil extortion attempt motive; court likely to frame charges in April

Eight persons, including Walmik Karad, a close aide of former Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, have been arrested so far and booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The motive behind the killing of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was his opposition to extortion attempts targeting an energy firm linked to a windmill project, the prosecution on Wednesday submitted to a court in Maharashtra's Beed district.

The court is likely to frame charges in the case against eight persons, including Walmik Karad, a close aide of former Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, in April.

On Wednesday, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, submitted the facts of the case, including relevant documents, to the court.

"The prosecution informed the court of the gruesome manner in which Deshmukh was first kidnapped, tortured physically and then ultimately killed," Nikam told PTI.

The court was also told that the motive behind the offence was Deshmukh’s intervention and opposition to the extortion attempts made by the accused persons from the company, the prosecutor added.

The court has posted the matter for further hearing on April 10.

Nikam said the court is likely to frame charges in the case next month after which the trial will commence.

The accused in the sarpanch murder case were produced in a court via video-conference on Wednesday.

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted and tortured to death on December 9 last year allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company.

Eight persons, including Karad, have been arrested so far and booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The other arrested accused were identified as Sudarshan Ghule, Vishnu Chate, Jairam Chate, Mahesh Kedar, Sudhir Sangale, Prateek Ghule and Siddharth Sonawane. One Krishna Andhale is wanted in the case.

Before the hearing, Nikam met the family members of the deceased sarpanch and the Crime Investigation Department (CID) officials.

"We also told the court that we have evidence for every fact presented. This case is based on circumstantial, paper and scientific evidence...We filed an application in the court requesting that the identity of the witnesses be kept secret," Nikam said.

The court was told that accused Sudarshan Ghule was working as per instructions of prime accused Walmik Karad, he said.

The prosecution also submitted in the court the audio recordings in which the personnel of Avaada Energy Private Ltd company were threatened, he said.

The documents sought by the accused through their lawyers were also submitted, Nikam said.

Meanwhile, Dhananjay Deshmukh, the brother of slain sarpanch, met Nikam before the court hearing.

Talking to reporters about it, Deshmukh said, "This was a primary meeting. We sought a separate meeting with him (Nikam). We are also going to write to the judicial committee about our demands and its copy will be given to the CID, Beed Superintendent of Police (SP) and others."