27 January,2025 12:01 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Chandrakant Patil. File Pic
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will ask NCP minister Dhananjay Munde to step down if any evidence is found linking him to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder, his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil has said, reported news agency PTI.
The BJP leader on Sunday said that a comprehensive probe is being conducted into the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
Walmik Karad, an associate of NCP minister Munde, has been arrested in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's killing.
Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and killed on December 9 for trying to stop an extortion bid against an energy firm operating a windmill project there.
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Attach Walmik Karad's properties to ensure he doesn't transfer them: BJP leader
Munde, the NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district, is under attack from some of the ruling alliance colleagues and the opposition over his links with Karad, PTI stated.
"The investigation into the murder of Santosh Deshmukh is underway. Each matter is different. As the head of the government, Devendra Fadnavis is fully capable of making decisions. If he believes there is substance in the allegations, he will act immediately and ask Munde to resign," Patil said.
"The Maharashtra government has already seized properties of the accused in sarpanch Deshmukh murder case. Stringent charges have been invoked and the probe is going on," the BJP leader said.
Patil also stated the police machinery is actively investigating the case, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed for a probe into it.
Additionally, a committee headed by a retired judge has been constituted to oversee the inquiry, the minister added.
Steps are being taken, including invocation of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Walmik Karad and other accused, Patil pointed out.
The process of seizing Karad's assets is also underway, he added.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the murder of Beed Sarpanch murder case must attach the properties of Walmik Karad to prevent him from transferring them to his aides, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Suresh Dhas stated on Saturday.
"The people of Maharashtra will rest only after the killers are hanged," Dhas declared at a protest rally held at Azad Maidan against the Beed Sarpanch murder and the custodial death of Parbhani youth Somnath Suryavanshi.
According to news agency PTI, Dhas also pointed out that Beed resident Mahadev Munde had been murdered 15 months ago, but his killers remain at large.
"How can Bhaskar Kendre, a police officer, be posted in Parli for the last 15 years? The police in Beed are under political pressure. The SIT must ensure that Karad's properties are attached so he cannot transfer them to his aides," Dhas said.
(With inputs from PTI)
