MCOCA against 8; Karad's exclusion questioned

The government is trying to restore peace and end the divide among communities. Police will take appropriate action and no one will be spared, I repeat no one DEVENDRA FADNAVIS, CM

- Nadeem Inamdar

PUNE: All seven accused arrested for the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, and one absconding accused, have been charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999. However, food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde's close aide Walmik Karad has neither been charged under MCOCA, nor for Deshmukh's murder.

Karad has been charged in a case of extortion linked to Deshmukh's murder but has not been named in the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the local Kej police for the murder. This has raised a storm of protest across political parties as Karad, a local strongman, is believed to be the mastermind behind the killing.

MCOCA confers upon the state government special powers of surveillance, relaxed evidentiary standards and procedural safeguards, and the power to prescribe additional criminal penalties.

Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 last year for trying to stop an extortion bid on an energy firm helming a windmill project in the region. Navneet Kanwat, Beed Superintendent of Police, said, "All the accused arrested in the murder case have been booked under MCOCA and legal proceedings have been initiated."