Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was murdered as he was allegedly seen as an obstacle in a Rs 2 crore extortion plan targeting an energy firm, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Maharashtra Police informed a court in Beed on Wednesday. The SIT also revealed that Walmik Karad was in contact with the killers at the time of the crime.
The special court for the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) in Beed remanded Walmik Karad, an associate of NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, to the SIT's custody for seven days.
Karad was produced in court under heavy security, prompting his supporters to call for a bandh in parts of Beed district, demanding his release.
Earlier held in the extortion case, he was charged under the stringent MCOCA on Tuesday, after which the SIT, which is probing the Deshmukh murder case, sought his fresh custody.
Karad was in contact with the other accused during the sequence of events leading to Deshmukh’s murder, said the remand application submitted by the SIT in the court.
The SIT revealed that on December 9, Sudarshan Ghule and his aides abducted and murdered Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, with Karad, Ghule, and Vishnu Chate being in contact before and after the crime. Karad allegedly demanded Rs 2 crore from Avaada company’s representative, Shivaji Thopte, threatening to halt windmill projects in Beed if the payment was not made. Additionally, Karad, using Chate’s phone, called Sunil Shinde on November 29, ordering him to comply with Ghule’s demands.
Kawde said, “Going by records of the police and the arrested accused, we (Karad) were no way involved in the case. So this arrest of Karad is illegal and we made this argument in the court.” “Karad has no connection with the offence No. 637/2024 (registered after the abduction of sarpanch Deshmukh). An offence of extortion was registered against him and he has undergone custody for the same. There was no evidence against him,” claimed the advocate.