Sarpanch murder case trial should be held outside Beed: Sena (UBT) leader Danve

Mumbai, Jan 2 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council Ambadas Danve on Thursday said the trial in the case of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh’s murder should be conducted outside Beed district.

Talking to reporters, Danve said that when Walmik Karad, a close associate of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, was produced before a court in Beed after surrendering in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch’s murder, the public prosecutor recused himself from the case.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader sought to know the reason behind the prosecutor’s recusal.

The opposition has been demanding that Karad be booked for Deshmukh’s murder.

Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Kej tehsil of Beed district, was abducted and brutally killed on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company.

Karad surrendered before the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Pune in connection with the extortion case on Tuesday, 22 days after the sarpanch’s murder, inviting sharp reaction from the opposition.

“The trial of the Santosh Deshmukh murder case should be conducted outside Beed,” Danve said.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also raised doubts over the 10-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state government to probe Deshmukh’s death.

“Majority of the officers in the probe team are from Beed. The police personnel who refused to act against Karad are being included in the probe team, everything looks scripted,” he claimed.

Danve also demanded that the CID make Karad’s call records public.

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday formed the SIT for the probe into Deshmukh’s murder.

The SIT will be headed by CID’s Deputy Inspector General Basavraj Teli, said an order issued by the state Home department.

Earlier, the government had handed over the probe into the murder and related cases of extortion and an assault on a security guard to the CID.

During the recently-held winter session of the Maharashtra legislature, the opposition alleged Karad was the “mastermind” of the murder, though he claimed that he was being accused falsely for political vendetta.