CID gets custody of Walmik Karad for 14 days; Beed villagers hold protest seeking swift arrests

There is a link between the murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh and the ₹2-crore extortion bid by local villagers on Avaada, a firm that operates a wind energy project in the same village, criminal investigation department (CID) officers told a Beed court on Wednesday as they sought custody of Walmik Karad, an arrested accused in the extortion case.

- Nadeem Inamdar

PUNE:

Karad, known to be close to Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, was remanded to 14 days police custody by the court at Kej following his surrender at the CID headquarters on Tuesday. He was produced in court late on Wednesday evening amid heavy security after undergoing medical examination at the government hospital.

Special public prosecutor advocate J.B. Shinde told the court that Karad's custodial interrogation was necessary as there was a connection between Deshmukh's murder and the extortion bid.