THANE, March 2: Police have filed a chargesheet in sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case after a very thorough probe, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said and expressed confidence that the guilty would get strict punishment.
The state Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Thursday filed a more than 1,200 pages chargesheet at a court in Beed district in Deshmukh’s murder and two related cases.
The murder of Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, on December 9 last year has triggered a political firestorm in the state as NCP minister Dhananjay Munde’s close aide Walmik Karad has been arrested in connection with the related extortion case.
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Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company in Beed.
Three separate cases – murder of sarpanch, bid to extort money from Avaada company and assault on security guard of the firm – have been registered at Kej police station in Beed. The police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused in the murder case.
Talking to reporters here on Saturday, CM Fadnavis said, “The police have conducted a very professional investigation in the Santosh Deshmukh case. The chargesheet has been filed in a timely manner and with complete evidence following the new law.”
“Now, we will request the court to fast track this case. We have appointed Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor. I am confident the court will give strict punishment to the accused,” Fadnavis said, speaking on the sidelines of the Maharashtra police conference in which several topics related to law and order were discussed.
While seven persons have been arrested in the sarpanch murder case, the primary accused, Krushna Andhale, remains at large. (PTI)
