15 January,2025 07:58 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
Walmik Karad
Walmik Karad - an associate of NCP (Ajit Pawar) minister Dhananjay Munde - who was arrested in the extortion case that is believed to have led to Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder on December 9, 2024, has been booked under a stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) by the Special Investigation Team. The court allowed Karad to be taken into custody in the murder case on Tuesday.
Earlier, the police asked for police custody to be extended in the extortion case, but the court dismissed the pleas. The police wanted to verify Karad's investment and assets in the country and abroad. But, later in the day, the Kaij MCOCA court allowed Karad's custody when the police told it that his name had been added to the list of the eight MCOCA accused booked earlier.
According to Karad's lawyer, Siddheshwar Thombre, the SIT had also booked his client under BNS Section 103 (murder) like eight other accused. Thombre said the defence did not know yet why Karad was made co-accused under MCOCA. He said the defence will challenge the SIT on Wednesday after studying the new case papers. But he insisted that his client was framed despite having no connection with the murder or extortion cases. It was learnt that the MCOCA court will hear the SIT on Wednesday and see the evidence produced before it.
The MCOCA action happened after Deshmukh's brother Dhananjay and fellow villagers protested in Massajog on Monday demanding MCOCA and murder charges. Dhananjay had climbed up a water tank and got down only after the police assured him of action. The state government had also excluded some members of the SIT a day before, and added new officers to it, whose background was verified for any links with the accused, especially Karad. As the news of the MCOCA application spread, Karad's supporters and kin protested in Parli town, calling for shutting shops and businesses. Karad's mother, wife and supporters staged a sit-in protest in front of the police station all day.
