Accused in extortion case linked to Beed sarpanch murder remanded in judicial custody till Jan 18

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jan 13 (PTI) Vishnu Chate, an accused in the extortion case linked to the killing of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, was on Monday remanded in judicial custody till January 18 by a court in Beed district.

Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog in Beed, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 for attempting to stop an extortion bid on an energy firm helming a windmill project in Beed district, some 380 kilometres from here. Police registered a murder case and an extortion case linked to the killing.

The Kej court has remanded Chate in judicial custody till January 18 in the extortion case, his advocate told reporters.

Chate is also one of the eight accused in the sarpanch murder case, in which police has invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). PTI AW BNM