Pune: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to review security arrangements for public representatives and other leaders. Pawar also asked to provide them with adequate police protection. Pawar in a letter to Fadnavis expressed concern over the accused involved in the killing of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of a village in Beed district, still at large nearly one month after the incident.
The letter also highlighted the widespread protests and the 'Akrosh Morcha' organised in Beed district to demand justice for Deshmukh. The people's representatives and leaders across party lines are condemning the incident from public platforms and even mentioning the name of the "mastermind" and the person responsible for it, Pawar said in the letter, posted on his social media handles.
"The late Santosh Deshmukh, the Sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was brutally murdered by some goons a month ago. Although a long time has passed since this brutal incident, there is a public perception that Deshmukh's killer is still at large. Therefore, it is evident that this entire incident has a very serious criminal background," Pawar posted on X.
Santosh Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9, apparently because he tried to thwart an attempt to extort money from an energy firm operating a windmill project. Police have so far arrested seven persons in the murder case. Walmik Karad, an associate of Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde, has been arrested in the extortion case. Dhananjay Munde is an NCP MLA.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) is conducting a probe into the cases. Some leaders of the ruling allies BJP and NCP as well as the opposition have been demanding that Munde be dropped from the state council of ministers for a fair probe into the murder case.
Pawar, in his letter to Fadnavis, said the brutal murder of Deshmukh is not the first incident in Beed as cases pertaining to murder, kidnapping and extortion were registered there in the past also, and public representatives and leaders have expressed doubts that all these are linked to each other.
"Amidst this situation, the possibility of the criminals posing a threat to the lives of these public representatives cannot be ruled out," he said.
"Therefore, recognising the seriousness of the matter, the chief minister has been urged through a formal memorandum to review the security arrangements for these representatives and other leaders and to provide adequate police protection to them through the state government," he said. (With Agency Inputs)
Read More
