Beed sarpanch murder: Defence demands statements of witnesses, accused; next hearing on 26 Mar

The defence in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case on 12 March, Wednesday claimed in a court in Maharashtra Beed district that they had not received the statement of the accused and witnesses.

In the first hearing of the case, in a court in Kej in the district, the accused were produced virtually. Police have arrested seven persons, including former state minister Dhananjay Munde’s close aid Walmik Karad, in connection with the murder. One accused has been on the run.

Assistant Government Prosecutor (AGP) Balasaheb Kolhe told the media that the court has sought their response to the demand of the defence by 26 March, the next hearing date. Renowned lawyer Ujjwal Nikam is the public prosecutor in the case.

Anant Tidke, who represented accused Sudarshan Ghule, told reports that they have not yet received the statements of the witnesses and the accused, who have been booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

“We have also not got the videos (related to the case). We have demanded the papers (related to the case). Now, the public prosecutor has been given time to produce their response,” he said.

“It is our right to get these documents and the papers we have received so far are incomplete,” he claimed.

AGP Kolhe said the accused were produced virtually and their lawyers had filed three applications. “The court has given us time (till 26 March) to submit our response to their applications,” he added.

Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and murdered on 9 December last year allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company.

Seven persons, including Karad, have been arrested so far. The others arrested include Sudarshan Ghule, Vishnu Chate, Jairam Chate, Mahesh Kedar, Sudhir Sangale and Prateek Ghule. One Krishna Andhale is a wanted accused in the case.

Besides others, five secret witnesses have told investigators about the criminal activities of Karad and his associates in the Beed district, the home turf of NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who resigned as a state minister earlier this month.