Beed Sarpanch Murder: Walmik Karad Charged Under MCOCA

Walmik Karad, arrested in connection with the extortion case involving a windmill company, was presented in court today after his 15-day police custody expired. Following arguments from both the public prosecutor and Karad’s defense lawyer, the court extended his custody by 14 more days. The CID has revealed that they are in the process of registering charges against Karad under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), with a formal application already submitted to the court. Once the MCOCA charges are filed, CID may seek an extension of his custody.

Karad was previously not implicated in the murder case of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, despite eight others being charged under MCOCA. However, following public outcry from Deshmukh's family and villagers, who identified Karad as the alleged mastermind, CID has now moved to bring MCOCA charges against him. On November 29, Karad was charged with extorting ₹2 crore from officials at the Avada wind energy project in Massajog. CID officials are investigating this case, with Karad and his associates, Vishnu Chate and Sudarshan Ghule, under scrutiny. While the extortion demand was made on November 29, further investigation will determine if Chate and Ghule’s actions on December 6 are linked to the case. Additionally, the CID is exploring whether Karad’s involvement extends to the murder investigation.

Dhananjay Deshmukh, the brother of slain sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, staged a protest in Massajog village in Beed on Monday and demanded the authorities to provide critical information regarding his brother’s murder investigation.Dhananjay, along with several other villagers, climbed a government water tank and called out the main accused, Walmik Karad, to be charged with murder and demanded that the latter be booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA). They chanted slogans, calling for swift action against Karad.Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil also arrived to support the Deshmukh family, urging Dhananjay to end the protest.