Walmik Karad, a close aide to Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, as he surrenders before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in a case related to the killing of a sarpanch in Maharashtra’s Beed district, Pune. File
Extortion case Walmik Karad was jailed for seven days by Beed Sessions Court Judge SR Patil on Wednesday after he was charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA). The supporters of the former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were protesting in Pangri area of Beed district, demanding the withdrawal of the case.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) presented ten points while seeking 10 days of police custody for Mr. Karad. They mentioned how the murder was planned. The SIT suspects that the main reason behind the killing of Santosh Deshmukh was that he was obstructing efforts to extract the ransom. According to the police chief, all the suspects conspired to kidnap Santosh Deshmukh, while Mr. Karad threatened Deshmukh on the day of the murder.
Massajog sarpanch Mr. Deshmukh was killed on December 9 for foiling an extortion attempt. While seven people were arrested as part of the murder case and booked under MCOCA on January 11, Walmik Karad was arrested in the R2 crore fraud case involving Avada Green Energy Company and booked under MCOCA on Tuesday.
Walmik Karad’s lawyer confirmed that the SIT had spoken about the conspiracy to kill Santosh and asked for custody to continue the investigation into the phone details of all the accused, ie their communication with each other. “According to the phone information, the police asked to be detained. I argued that they are connected to different cases through one phone call, and Walmik Karad is not connected to it. I asked why the case of extortion was filed on December 11, when the FIR mentions the application for extortion was made on November 19. Everything is speculation and baseless,” said lawyer Siddheswar Thombre. A Hindu.
The SIT also presented the criminal records of Mr. Karad and eight other accused in the Santosh Deshmukh case.
A fan protest
After Mr. Karad has been booked under MCOCA, his supporters staged a protest in Beed village of Pangri district on Wednesday, demanding that the case be dropped. His followers protested in other districts of Beed as well, making the situation tense. A few protesters climbed a mobile tower and entered a water tank.
Mr Karad’s mother and his wife, Manjiri, also joined the protest and sat outside the Parli police station demanding his release. His wife told the media that he has been made a scapegoat to carry out other people’s wishes in politics.
Baramati Member of Parliament and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Supriya Sule will take on Walmik Karad’s betrayal of Baramati farmers and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Ms. Sule said, “I plan to meet the people who became victims of Mr. Farmers complained that Mr. Karad used their money to get money from the government to buy harvesters.
Published – January 16, 2025 06:52 am IST