One accused in sarpanch murder still absconding, what is govt doing? Sule

Pune, Jan 30 (PTI) NCP (SP) Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule on Thursday criticised the Maharashtra government over the probe into the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, saying one of the alleged killers was at large even 50 days after the crime.

Referring to Deshmukh’s murder and some other crimes, Sule said she will raise these issues in Parliament and will also seek appointment with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to apprise him of the situation in the state.

She appreciated Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP head Ajit Pawar’s “strong stand” while addressing his party workers in Beed on Thursday, and said had he taken such a stand earlier, the sarpanch would have been alive.

Amid the political row over the murder of sarpanch Deshmukh, Pawar on Thursday asked the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers in Beed district not to get involved in extortion attempts targeting development projects.

He also asked his party workers to maintain a “clean character” and said political interference will not be tolerated in the administration.

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9, 2024, for allegedly trying to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy firm in Beed.

Seven persons have been arrested in connection with the murder, while accused Krishna Andhale is still at large.

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

“One of the killers of Deshmukh is still at large for the last 51 days. How can that person disappear? What are the police doing?” Sule asked while talking to reporters here.

The NCP (SP) working president, who party is a constituent of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi along with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress, said they will not remain silent and demanded justice for Deshmukh as well as Somnath Suryawanshi, who died in judicial custody in Maharashtra’s Parbhani district after violence there last month.

“We, as (part of) MVA, will be highlighting all these issues…extortion, corruption…in Parliament during the Budget session. I will also seek an appointment with (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah and will apprise him of the current situation of the state,” said Sule.

“A lot of people are speaking about the issue (sarpanch murder case), and our collective demand is that the decision (of seeking resignation of Dhananjay Munde) on moral grounds should be taken in cases being probed by the CID in Beed,” she said.

Sule also targeted the Mahayuti government over its flagship Ladki Bahin scheme and asked why Rs 2,100 per month was not being given to the beneficiaries, as promised during the assembly elections last year.

Under the scheme, touted to have helped the Mahayuti in winning the state polls, the eligible women are provided a monthly assistance of Rs 1,500.

Sule also expressed concern over the stampede at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday during the Maha Kumbh, which claimed 30 lives.

The NCP leader said former Union Minister and BJP leader Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti has demanded that Army be deployed at the Maha Kumbh as the local administration has collapsed.

Sule also targeted the government over six accused in the 2015 killing of rationalist Govind Pansare getting bail from the Bombay High Court on Wednesday.

“If evidence is not there, what are the police and government doing?” she asked.

“In all these killings, be it Pansare, (Narendra) Dabholkar, Santosh Deshmukh, or Somnath Suryawanshi, one thing is common, and that is none of the families have received justice. We will be standing strong with their families,” she said.

The HC on Wednesday granted bail to six accused in the case of killing Pansare on the ground of their long incarceration and considering that the trial is not likely to be completed in the near future.

Asked about National Congress Party leader Baburao Chandere being booked in Pune for allegedly assaulting a senior citizen over a land dispute, Sule said the Ajit Pawar-led NCP should take a strong stand on the issue.

“The strong stand he (Pawar) exhibited in Beed today…had that strong stand been taken in the past, Santosh Deshmukh would have been alive today. The videos from Pune involving Chandere are not at all good,” she said.

In the video, Chandere, a former Pune Municipal Corporation standing committee chairman, can be seen arguing with real estate developer Vijay Raundal near a parked luxury car, accosting him and then subjecting him to a body slam, resulting in the senior citizen falling to the ground on his back.

A case was registered against Chandere after the incident last week.