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Walmik Karad moves court seeking discharge from Beed sarpanch murder case
Karad, along with Chate and Sudarshan Ghule, is also accused of demanding ₹2 crore in extortion from Avada Wind Energy
Walmik Karad, a close aide of former state minister Dhananjay Munde and a key accused in sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case, has filed an application before the Special MCOCA Court in Beed court seeking to be discharged, claiming there is no primary evidence against him, the prosecution said on Thursday.
“There is no proof against me or any indication of my participation in the crime. I have not demanded extortion. On these grounds, I seek discharge,” Karad stated in his plea before Special Judge Vyankatesh Patwadkar.
Karad’s lawyer, Vikas Khade, reiterated that his client had no role in the murder.
Meanwhile, all accused appeared before the court via video conferencing. Advocate Rahul Munde, representing another accused Vishnu Chate, sought his transfer from Latur jail to Beed.
The court has sought a response on the application from the state Crime Investigation Department, which is conducting a probe into the case.
An accused can be discharged after filing of a chargesheet in a case, if the court is of the opinion that the offence against him is not prima facie made out. The accused then need not go through the trial in the case.
Karad, along with Chate and Sudarshan Ghule, is also accused of demanding ₹2 crore in extortion from Avada Wind Energy. Karad had surrendered to the CID in Pune on December 31 last year and was later charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) after a 15-day police custody.
Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted and tortured to death on December 9 last year allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting the energy company. Eight persons, including Karad, have been arrested so far and booked under the MCOCA.
The CID last month filed a more than 1,200 pages chargesheet at a court in Beed in Deshmukh’s murder and two related cases.
Talking to reporters after a hearing in the court, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said, “Accused Walmik Karad earlier demanded some papers. We have presented those papers before the court today. Secondly, the accused has filed an application to discharge him from the case, claiming there is no primary evidence against him.”
The court has asked for the CID’s response, which will be presented before the court on April 24, he added.
A video of Deshmukh being beaten up, which according to the CID was shot by the accused, was also presented before the court on Thursday, Nikam said.
“But we have requested the court that the video should not be made public as it may lead to a law and order issue. The accused will submit their response on this on April 24,” he said.
Nikam also said the prosecution filed an application before the court to seize the movable and immovable properties of Karad, which will come up for hearing later.
The CID is also investigating about the properties of the other accused in this case, he added.
