AS BEED BLEEDS

The murder of a sarpanch in Beed district has exposed a web of political rivalries, caste conflicts and police complicity

- BY DNYANESH JATHAR

The gruesome murder of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Kej taluk of Beed district, has shaken Maharashtra. It has also exposed an unholy alliance between the police and the henchmen of politicians in the lawless Beed, a district that has witnessed more than 300 murders in the last five years.

Santosh, who was popular in Massajog, could have been saved had the police acted on time, said his brother Dhananjay. Had the police registered a stringent case against the accused on December 6, Dhananjay told THE WEEK, Santosh would still be alive. Instead, he said, the police were busy helping the accused, who are now in jail.

Understanding the circumstances that led to Santosh's murder is important. Suresh Dhas of the BJP, who represents Ashti constituency in Beed district in the assembly, alleged that the murder plot was hatched in May 2024. The accused seized their opportunity in December, when Santosh intervened in a dispute between the accused and the security staff of a company named Avada Energy. The accused, led by a man named Sudarshan Ghule, had demanded ₹2 crore from the company.

On December 6, Ghule and the other accused allegedly began beating up Ashok Sonavane, a security personnel at Avada Energy and a native of Massajog. Sonavane called Santosh, his sarpanch, who rushed to the Avada Energy office. Santosh tried to reason with Ghule, but they ended up exchanging slaps.

Villagers soon intervened and calmed the situation. Sonavane, a dalit, and Santosh then went to the police station to register a complaint, hoping to invoke the Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against Ghule and the other accused. But the police refused to register the complaint.