Beed Sarpanch Murder Case: Accused Sudarshan Ghule In CID Custody Till Jan 31

Sudarshan Ghule, an accused in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case was remanded by a MCOCA court to the CID custody till January 31.

Chhatrapati Sambhainagar:A MCOCA court in Beed on Monday remanded Sudarshan Ghule, an accused in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case, to the CID custody till January 31 allowing the police to investigate the digital data and seized mobile phones. Ghule was produced in the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court. Earlier, he was remanded in judicial custody on January 18.

Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was abducted, tortured, and murdered on December 9 allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid on an energy firm in Beed district. Police registered murder and extortion cases. Seven persons were arrested in the murder case. Walmik Karad, a close aide of Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, was arrested in the extortion case.

The state government pleader told reporters that the court remanded Ghule to the CID custody till January 31. "The stringent MCOCA was invoked against Ghule for further investigation. Police want to investigate digital data recovered in the crime. Police also want to check his mobile phone but it's locked by a password," the pleader told reporters.

A lawyer representing Ghule said police had already seized his mobile phones. "The prosecution demanded a ten-day custody for Ghule but the court gave CID five days. The police want to inquire about digital evidence and mobile phone passwords even though phones were seized earlier," he said.