Beed sarpanch murder: Clamour grows for minister’s ouster after three more arrests

While the police have arrested three more accused involved in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, NCP (Ajit Pawar) MLA Prakash Solanke has suggested that Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde should stay out of the state cabinet to ensure a fair probe in the case.

Solanke is the first NCP (Ajit Pawar) leader and second from the ruling Mahayuti coalition to target Munde, an MLA from Beed district. BJP MLA Suresh Dhas has been criticising Munde, without taking his name, for rising crime in Beed.

Munde under fire from within

“When he was guardian minister of Beed for five years, Munde delegated all powers and authority to his close aide Walmik Karad who has been arrested in an extortion case (in connection with Deshmukh’s murder),” Solanke told reporters.

Also read: Why NCP minister Dhananjay Munde is under fire from BJP, Opposition

He alleged Karad became an “extraconstitutional authority” in Beed where lawlessness and extortion became rampant and anti-social elements called the shots.

“Munde should stay out of the cabinet to ensure a fair probe in the sarpanch’s murder. If he is unwilling, the (NCP) leadership should ask him to do so. I have spoken to Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and also publicly,” said Solanke, who represents the Majalgaon Assembly seat in Beed district.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Suresh Dhas mounted a fresh attack on Maharashtra minister Munde after two men were arrested from Pune in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case.

Dhas alleged that the two men arrested from Pune are just “pawns” while the “key accused” is roaming free. “The two persons arrested from Pune are mere pawns while the ‘aaka’ (mastermind) remains free,” Dhas, the MLA from Ashti in Beed district, told reporters.

Handed over to probe team

Earlier, police arrested Sudarshan Chandrabhan Ghule (26) and Sudhir Sangle (23) from Pune, while one Siddharth Sonawane was held from Kalyan in Thane district.

Ghule and Sangle are named in the FIR for the murder while the name of Sonawane surfaced during the investigation.

Police suspect Sonawane, a resident of Massajog village, kept a tab on the movement of sarpanch Deshmukh and updated other accused, sources said.

Ghule and Sangle were handed over to the special investigation team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the case, a police official said.

Police have so far arrested seven persons while one more accused is still absconding. A Beed police team arrested Siddharth Sonawane from Kalyan near Mumbai, a police officer told PTI.

The police had earlier arrested Jairam Manik Change (21), Mahesh Sakharam Kedar (21), Prateek Ghule (24) and Vishnu Chate (45) in the murder case, while another accused Krushna Andhale is still at large.

Also read: Beed sarpanch murder | 'Smaller fish could be killed to save the big fish': Cong leader

Brother seeks transparent probe

Meanwhile, Dhananjay Deshmukh, brother of the murdered sarpanch, on Saturday said the investigation in the case must be transparent, and the names of people who helped the accused must also be disclosed.

Talking to reporters, Dhananjay said, “One accused is still absconding, and there are people who have helped these men before and after the murder. It is now clear that this is an organised crime. Once the last accused in this case is apprehended, everything will be clear. The number of people involved in the case will also go up.”

“Till now, everyone (accused) has been nabbed in Pune. This means they were all in one place. Someone kept them safe there, and the names of those who helped these accused must be disclosed,” he said.

Nanded doc turns out crucial link

A “doctor” picked up from Nanded district proved to be a crucial link that led police to two accused (Ghule and Sangle) in Pune wanted in the Beed sarpanch murder case.

Also read: Beed sarpanch murder case: All-party march for arrest of all accused

“Police monitored movements of Dr Sambhaji Vaybhase after his alleged links with Sudarshan Ghule surfaced during the investigation,” sources in Beed Police said. Vaybhase was picked up from Nanded for questioning which led police to the accused Ghule and Sangle, a police official said on the condition of anonymity. Police suspect that Vaybhase helped Ghule flee after the murder.

Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 for attempting to stop an extortion bid on an energy firm helming a windmill project in the region. Walmik Karad, an aide of Maharashtra minister Munde, has been arrested in the extortion case.

(With agency inputs)