Santosh Deshmukh Murder Case: Accused Walmik Karad Sent in 14-Day Judicial Custody

A special court in Maharashtra's Beed district on Wednesday remanded Walmik Karad, an accused in an extortion case connected to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, to 14 days of judicial custody. Karad, who had been in CID custody, was presented before the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court via video link.

The court subsequently remanded Karad, an associate of Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, to 14 days of judicial custody. Karad had been booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) on January 14. Following this, the police sought his custody from the special MCOCA court.

On January 15, the court had remanded Walmik Karad to the custody of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CID, which is probing the case, until January 22. Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured, and murdered on December 9. Initial investigations revealed that Deshmukh had resisted an extortion attempt targeting an energy company operating a windmill project in the area. Karad was arrested in connection with the extortion case linked to the murder after surrendering to the police in Pune on December 31.