Beed sarpanch murder case: Citizens in Latur district collect Rs 21 lakh for Deshmukh's family

The money was handed over to Deshmukh`s family by Ausa MLA Abhimanyu Pawar. Pic/@AbhiPawarBJP X

Citizens from Maharashtra's Latur district have collected Rs 21 lakh for the family of slain Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.

On Wednesday, Ausa MLA Abhimanyu Pawar handed over financial aid to the family of Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district.

Deshmukh was abducted and tortured to death on December 9. Preliminary investigations suggest he was targeted for resisting an extortion attempt on an energy company running a windmill project in the area.

The murder had triggered a massive uproar in the state, with the opposition targeting the then NCP minister Dhananjay Munde after his close aide Walmik Karad was accused of being involved in the crime.

Eight persons, including Karad, have been arrested so far and booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Beed sarpanch murder case: Accused given AC room, special food in jail, claims BJP MLA

BJP MLA Suresh Dhas also demanded that the accused in the case be shifted to jails in other districts.

BJP MLA Suresh Dhas on Wednesday alleged that accused in the Beed sarpanch murder case were getting a VIP treatment in Beed district jail with an AC room and special food arranged for them, reported the PTI.

Dhas also demanded that the accused in the case be shifted to jails in other districts.

Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was abducted and tortured to death on December 9 last year allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company. Eight persons, including Walmik Karad, an aide of NCP leader and former state minister Dhananjay Munde, have been arrested and booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case.

Talking to reporters in Beed after the district planning committee meeting, Dhas said, "Special food is being given to these accused and an air conditioned room is also made available to them...They are allowed to speak over mobile phone regularly," according to the PTI.

"If accused in some other case are being sent to Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, then are Walmik Karad and others (accused in the sarpanch murder case) relatives of the jail administration? They should be shifted to Amravati or Nagpur," he added.

Reiterating his claim that Karad was assaulted by members of a rival gang in jail, the BJP legislator from Ashti assembly constituency in Beed said, "Quarrel and fight took place in Beed jail earlier. If prisoners from the rival gang were moved to other districts, then why are those from the opposite side not being shifted elsewhere?"

(With PT inputs)