Beed murder: Crackdown on properties of absconding accused, gun licences

Maharashtra CM Fadnavis orders property attachment of Santosh Deshmukh murder suspects and gun license cancellations amid rising violence in Beed district.

MUMBAI: With the state government under intense pressure over the Santosh Deshmukh murder, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday directed the police to attach the properties of the absconding accused in the case. He also ordered the police to cancel the gun licences of individuals in Beed district whose images and videos have surfaced on social media, brandishing revolvers.

Beed murder: Crackdown on properties of absconding accused, gun licences

A home department official said Fadnavis, who heads the home department, on Saturday directed additional director general, Crime Investigation Department (CID), Prashant Burde, to initiate the process to attach properties of the absconding accused in the murder of Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village, in Beed district, on December 9. Police have arrested two accused, while three accused are absconding.

Fadnavis has transferred the case to the CID, which has begun its investigation. Fadnavis on Saturday also ordered Beed district superintendent of police, Navneet Kanwat, to crack down on individuals whose videos and images brandishing revolvers have surfaced on social media.

“Fadnavis has taken serious cognisance of these images and videos and asked the Beed SP to verify them and immediately cancel their gun licences,” said the home department official. The chief minister has also asked Kanwat to review gun licences in the district.

Following the controversy over Deshmukh’s murder, several videos and images of associates of Walmik Karad brandishing revolvers went viral online. Elected representatives in Beed, as well as opposition leaders, have alleged that Karad, the prime accused in the case, is running a “reign of terror” in the district with his aides, involved in extortion and other crimes. Several of his aides have been issued gun licences, they alleged.

Social activist Anjali Damania too posted some of these videos, demanding that Fadnavis crack down on this brazen display of guns, which are meant for self-defence. Addressing a protest rally on Friday, BJP legislator Suresh Dhas alleged that around 1,200 weapons licences have been issued to supporters of Karad, due to his political clout.

The Beed district administration and police on Saturday initiated the process of cancelling the arms licences of individuals with cases pending against them. “We have started the process on directions from the office of the director general of police,” said Kanwat. He added that the police are providing the information needed to take action, while the district collector’s office will complete the process.

Meanwhile, Damania claimed she had received an anonymous phone call from an individual who told her that the three absconding accused in the Deshmukh murder have been killed in Karnataka to spare their masters. “I received a call but I don’t know if the person was telling truth or misleading me. I have shared this information with the superintendent of police,” she said. Kanwat said there is no official confirmation for the information shared by Damania. “We have sent her a letter, asking her to submit details and proof so that we can look into the matter,” he said.