Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Kej tehsil of Beed district in Maharashtra was abducted and brutally killed on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company
Maharashtra legislative council LoP Ambadas Danve
Maharashtra legislative council LoP Ambadas Danve on Thursday said the trial in the case of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder should be conducted outside Beed district, reported news agency PTI.
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Danve said that the public prosecutor recused Walmik Karad from the case. Karad, a close associate of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, was produced before a court in Beed after surrendering in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's murder.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, as stated by PTI, sought to know the reason behind the prosecutor's recusal.
The opposition has been demanding that Karad be booked for Deshmukh's murder.
Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Kej tehsil of Beed district in Maharashtra was abducted and brutally killed on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company.
Karad surrendered before the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Pune in connection with the extortion case on Tuesday, 22 days after the sarpanch's murder, inviting sharp reaction from the opposition, reported PTI.
"The trial of the Santosh Deshmukh murder case should be conducted outside Beed," Danve said.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also raised doubts over the 10-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state government to probe Deshmukh's death.
"Majority of the officers in the probe team are from Beed. The police personnel who refused to act against Karad are being included in the probe team, everything looks scripted," he claimed.
Danve also demanded that the CID make Karad's call records public, stated PTI.
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday formed the SIT for the probe into Deshmukh's murder.
The SIT will be headed by CID's Deputy Inspector General Basavraj Teli, said an order issued by the state Home department.
The government had handed over the probe into the murder and related cases of extortion and an assault on a security guard to the CID earlier.
During the recently-held winter session of the Maharashtra legislature, the opposition alleged Karad was the "mastermind" of the murder, though he claimed that he was being accused falsely for political vendetta, reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
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