Sarpanch murder case: MCOCA slapped against 8 accused

Mumbai: The stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has been slapped against all eight accused in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case, a top police official said on Saturday. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog in Beed, some 380 kilometres from here, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 for trying to stop an extortion bid on an energy firm helming a windmill project there, as per police.

A murder case and extortion case linked to the killing were registered by police, after which the probe was transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Maharashtra CID.

Seven persons have been arrested in connection with the murder, while one accused is on the run. "MCOCA section 3(1) pertaining to committing organised crime has been slapped against Sudarshan Ghule, Prateek Ghule, Sudhir Sangle, Krishna Andhale, Vishnu Chate, Siddharth Sonawane, Mahesh Kedar and Jayaram Change. Andhale is absconding," the Beed police official said.

Those convicted under the section can be punished with death or life imprisonment in case the crime involves murder. Among the accused in the extortion case linked to Deshmukh's murder is Walmik Karad, a close aide of NCP minister and Parli MLA Dhananjay Munde.