Fadnavis orders judicial probe, Munde aide booked for extortion

CM narrates events leading to sarpanch's murder; assures crime-free Beed

- Surendra P Gangan and Pradip Maitra

NAGPUR: Nearly 10 days after the brutal killing of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village, Beed district, and the ensuing political storm, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a judicial probe in the case and transferred the local superintendent of police Avinash Bargal for failing to take prompt action, on Friday.

The CM added that a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed under an inspector general of police to investigate the case earlier.

In Friday's session of the legislature, responding to the Opposition's charge of rampant lawlessness in the district which they claimed the Mahayuti government had been unable to curb, Fadnavis expressed his resolve to weed out criminality in Beed district. Additionally, he said, Walmik Karad, a close aide of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde and his accomplices would be booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for organised criminal activities.

Fadnavis has also announced an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh to Deshmukh's next of kin.

Deshmukh, a three-term sarpanch of Massajog, in Kej tehsil of Beed, was killed on December 9, after he tried to intervene in an extortion bid at a wind energy plant, Avada Green Energy (AGE), at Massajog village, by a group of criminals on a highway between Beed and Sambhaji Nagar. The accused had been allegedly running an extortion racket. Fadnavis said, "The judicial probe will also involve other criminal cases in the Beed; the report is expected in three to six months."

While announcing Bargal's suspension, Fadnavis promised that police in the region will be asked to "undertake a drive to crackdown against sand and land mafia, and criminals threatening industries".