A special court in Maharashtra's Beed district recently ruled that Walmik Karad, the main suspect in the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, appears to be part of an organised crime group. The judge rejected Karad's request to be discharged from the case, citing evidence that he and others filmed the attack to 'create terror'
File Photo.
A special court in Maharashtra's Beed district has determined that Walmik Karad, the prime accused in the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, appears to be a member of an organised crime syndicate involved in illegal activities, reported news agency PTI.
MCOCA judge, V H Patwadkar, rejected Karad's discharge application in the case last week, stating that he and his co-accused had shot a video of the attack on the victim "to create terror of their gang/syndicate".
Considering the evidence on record, the court stated that, prima facie, Karad appears to be a member of an organised crime syndicate and is involved in "continuing unlawful activities".
According to PTI, the court noted that "the accused persons allegedly shot a video and made video calls to others while mercilessly beating Deshmukh in order to create terror of their gang/syndicate".
Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted and tortured to death on 9th December last year. This horrific act was allegedly committed because he attempted to stop an extortion attempt targeting an energy company.
Meanwhile, eight individuals, including Karad, have been arrested so far and charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has filed a chargesheet exceeding 1,200 pages in the murder case and two related offences in the court, reported ANI.
Karad, in his discharge plea, asserted that he had been falsely implicated in the case due to political motivations. Regarding the MCOCA charges, the accused contended that no such crime syndicate existed, and he was not a member of one.
The prosecution, opposing his plea, provided a detailed account of the alleged conspiracy and its execution. Furthermore, it was also alleged that Karad conspired with the co-accused to demand a ransom of Rs 2 crore from Avaada Energy Private Ltd. to allow them to operate their business in Kaij Taluka. They reportedly threatened to halt the company's work if the ransom was not paid.
Moreover, the prosecution further claimed that when Deshmukh intervened, Karad and the co-accused allegedly conspired, kidnapped, and fatally assaulted him, leading to his death. They then dumped Deshmukh's body at Daithana Phata and fled, the police stated, reported ANI.
The prosecution also highlighted that Karad had been previously booked in 20 other cases, with seven offences registered in the last 10 years.
The court noted that statements from witnesses, along with electronic, digital, scientific, and forensic evidence, prima facie demonstrate Karad's involvement in the crime.
(With inputs from PTI)
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