In a significant development in the Beed Sarpanch murder case, Walmik Karad, a close aide of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister Dhananjay Munde, was on Tuesday sent to 14-day judicial custody. Karad is accused in a Rs 2 crore extortion case connected to the murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district.
Karad, who had surrendered to the police in Pune on December 31, was initially remanded to 14-day police custody. On Tuesday, he was brought from Beed and produced before a court in Kej, Beed district. Following the proceedings, the court sent him to judicial custody under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA).
The case, which has drawn significant public attention, centers on the murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, whose killing has led to widespread protests and calls for swift justice. Dhananjay Deshmukh, the brother of the slain sarpanch, staged a protest in Massajog village, Beed, on Monday, demanding that Karad be charged under MCOCA due to the severity of the crime.
Authorities have invoked the MCOCA, a law aimed at curbing organized crime, in an attempt to tackle the growing menace of extortion and criminal activities linked to political figures in the region.