Munde aide plotted to kill Beed sarpanch for blocking extortion bid, says charge sheet

Charge sheet links the extortion case and the murder, which were registered as separate cases by Beed police

Pune: Food and civil supplies minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde’s aide Walmik Karad was the mastermind behind the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, according to the charge sheet submitted by police in the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Beed.

Walmik Karad, a close aide of Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, as he surrenders before the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Pune on Dec. 31, 2024. (PTI)

Karad himself sought a ransom of ₹2 crore from the land acquisition officer of Avaada, a renewable energy company with presence in Beed. He plotted to murder Deshmukh after the sarpanch tried to block his associates’ attempt at recovering the money, says the charge sheet submitted by the state criminal investigation department’s special investigation team (CID-SIT).

It links the extortion case and the murder, which were registered as separate cases by Beed police and includes as evidence recordings of phone calls recovered from the accused and CCTV footage, certified by a government forensic laboratory.

Threatened before murder

Sudarshan Ghule, accused number two after Karad in the charge sheet, was part of the organised crime scene in Beed and neighbouring areas for over ten years and was named as accused in 11 criminal cases.

He is referred to as the ‘gang leader’ in the charge sheet, which states that if Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was not eliminated, their business would crumble and they would be reduced to penury.

According to the charge sheet, on October 8, 2024, Karad and his associate Vishnu Chate met Shivaji Thopate, Avaada’s land acquisition officer, at his office in Parli, and threatened him, saying, “If you want the company to function in here, pay ₹2 crore. Else you will not be allowed to work in the entire district.”

Ghule followed up on the threat on November 29, when he asked the Avaada official to fulfil the demands of ‘Walmik Anna’ or face closure across the district. He also asked the official to meet Karad.

When Karad, Ghule and the other accused – Vishnu Chate, Pratik Ghule, Sudhir Sangale and Krushna Andhale (absconding) – met at Chate’s office in Ket later that afternoon, Chate called Thopate from his number and gave the phone to Karad.

“Stop work immediately, whatever be the circumstances, or be prepared to face serious consequences,” he told the officer and asked for ₹2 crore again. The accused then discussed among themselves why Avaada was not paying up and how they could recover the money from the company.

On December 6, Sudarshan Ghule, Pratik Ghule and Sudhir Sangale barged into Avaada’s office in Parli. They assaulted the security guard and Thopate too, who was present there, showed videos of the incident that surfaced on social media and have been included in the charge sheet as evidence.

Santosh Deshmukh reached the spot after receiving a call from Avaada officials and requested Ghule and others to back off from the extortion bid. “Please don’t shut the company. Let people get employment,” he told them.

Chate responded with a death threat, also captured on video, saying Deshmukh was coming between them and the company.

On December 7, Ghule placed a call to Karad, wherein Karad said, “No company will pay us money if people come in between. Whoever comes in between must levelled off (killed).”

Three days later, on December 9, 2024, Deshmukh was brutally assaulted and murdered.