Several villagers in Maharashtra's Beed district launched a 'jal samadhi' agitation on Wednesday, demanding the arrest of the absconding accused in the brutal murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. The protest follows the surrender of Walmik Karad, a close aide of Maharashtra NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, in Pune on Tuesday. Karad, wanted in an extortion case connected to the sarpanch's murder, was remanded to 14-day police custody.
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) is investigating the murder and extortion cases linked to the killing of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed's Kej tehsil. Deshmukh was abducted last month and brutally murdered on December 9 for allegedly opposing an extortion attempt targeting a windmill company.
Police have arrested three individuals in the murder case, while three others remain absconding. In the extortion case, Walmik Karad and another suspect have been taken into custody. On Wednesday, several villagers entered a lake in Massajog and stood waist-deep in the water as part of the ‘jal samadhi’ agitation, demanding arrest of the absconding accused in the murder case.
A protester told reporters, “Santosh Deshmukh deserves justice. Even after 23 days since his murder, three accused remain absconding.” Criticizing the police, he added, “What is the police administration doing? The accused should be arrested and hanged to death. That’s why the villagers have entered the water as a form of protest.”