A special court in Beed has rejected the discharge applications of four accused in the murder case of a sarpanch in the district.
The accused appeared to be members of an organised crime syndicate and were involved in continuing unlawful activities, Special Judge V.H. Patwadkar of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court held in a detailed order passed on November 11.
Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village, was abducted and killed on December 9 last year for allegedly attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting Avaada Energy Pvt. Ltd., an energy company.
Eight persons, including prime accused Walmik Baburao Karad – an alleged aide of former Maharashtra Minister and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde – were arrested under the MCOCA, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in the case.
Four accused – Pratik Ghule, Sudhir Sangale, Mahesh Kedar, and Jayram Chate – sought discharge in the case under Section 250 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), alleging political vendetta and lack of evidence.
The judge held that the “scope of Section 250 of BNSS is very limited”. “Critical analysis of evidence is not expected at this stage. It is only to be seen whether there are sufficient grounds to proceed against the accused,” the court observed.
“Statements of witnesses and other relevant documents prima facie show complicity of the applicants/accused in the said crimes,” the order stated.
Advocate D.I. Patil, for the four applicants, argued they were “falsely implicated due to political motives” and that “no prima facie case under the MCOCA is made out”. He maintained that “the alleged crime syndicate never existed” and challenged the legality of clubbing three FIRs into one chargesheet.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam argued that the accused conspired to extort ₹2 crore from Avaada Energy Pvt. Ltd. to allow it to operate in Kaij taluka. When Deshmukh tried to stop the extortion bid, he was allegedly abducted, brutally assaulted, and his body dumped at Daithana Phata, he said.
‘Will proceed to trial’
The court found that 11 serious offences were previously registered against the accused and co-accused in Beed, supporting the application of MCOCA.
Rejecting the pleas, the court ruled that the case will proceed to trial.
Published – November 15, 2025 01:03 am IST
