Beed Court Rejects Discharge Plea Of Prime Accused In Sarpanch Murder, Cites Organised Crime Links

A special court in Beed has observed that Valmik Karad, the prime accused in the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, appears to be part of an organised crime syndicate engaged in unlawful activities.

Judge Says Attack Was Filmed to Instill Fear, Assert Gang Dominance

While rejecting Karad’s discharge plea last week, MCOCA judge VH Patwadkar noted that Karad and his co-accused filmed the attack to instill fear and assert the dominance of their gang.

Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted and tortured to death on December 9 last year for allegedly opposing an extortion attempt targeting an energy firm.

Valmik Karad, 7 Others Booked Under MCOCA, SC/ST Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

So far, eight people, including Karad, have been arrested and charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Chargesheet Spans 1,200 Pages

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has filed a chargesheet running into more than 1,200 pages in the murder case and two related offences in the court.

Karad, in his discharge plea, claimed he had been falsely implicated in the case due to political motivations.

On MCOCA charges, the accused contended that no such crime syndicate existed, and he was not a member.

Victim Allegedly Killed for Opposing Rs 2 Crore Extortion Attempt

The prosecution, while opposing his plea, gave a detailed account of the alleged conspiracy and its execution.

It also alleged that Karad conspired with the co-accused to demand a ransom of Rs2 crore from Avaada Energy Private Ltd to allow them to operate their business.

They threatened to halt the company's work if the ransom was not paid, it said.

The prosecution further claimed that when Deshmukh intervened, Karad and the co-accused allegedly conspired, kidnapped and killed him.

They then dumped Deshmukh's body at Daithana Phata and fled, the police said.

The court noted that statements of witnesses, along with electronic, digital, scientific, and forensic evidence, prima facie demonstrate Karad's complicity in the crime.

(Inputs from PTI)