Sarpanch murder: Aaditya accuses state govt of protecting accused Walmik Karad

Mumbai, Jan 22 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday hit out at the Maharashtra government over sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh’s murder and accused it of trying to save NCP minister Dhananjay Munde’s close aide Walmik Karad, arrested in a linked extortion case.

Talking to reporters, Thackeray said the people of Beed have expressed anguish over the murder case andt they were trying to know when will Deshmukh get justice.

“We saw (in actor Saif Ali Khan attack case) that police arrested (the accused) a Bangladeshi in 24 hours because they were given a free hand. But is the home department trying to save Walmik Karad. Whom is the government trying to save and why is it trying to do so?” the former state minister asked.

Thackeray said even BJP workers are asking when would Deshmukh get justice.

“But what can be expected from the government if the BJP workers are not getting justice,” he added.

Karad, an associate of Munde, surrendered before the police in Pune on December 31 in connection with the extortion case. He was booked under the stringent Maharashtra COCA and sent in 14-day judicial custody.

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9. Preliminary investigation indicated that Deshmukh had tried to resist an extortion attempt targeting an energy company operating a windmill project in the area.

Karad was on January 14 booked under the stringent MCOCA, following which the court remanded him in the custody of the SIT till January 22.

The Maharashtra police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) told the court in Beed last week that sarpanch Deshmukh was killed because he was thought to be an obstacle in a plan to extort Rs 2 crore from an energy firm, and that Karad was in contact with his killers when the crime was executed.