Sarpanch murder case: Court rejects accused's discharge plea, cites links to organised crime

Mumbai, Sep 29 (PTI) A special court in Maharashtra's Beed has rejected the discharge plea of Vishnu Chate, an accused in the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, citing that he appeared to be a member of the organised crime syndicate who was involved in continuing unlawful activities.

Special MCOCA judge V H Patwadkar had earlier this month rejected Chate's discharge application.

The court, in the recent order, ruled that "prima facie, there are sufficient grounds to proceed against the accused".

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted and tortured to death on December 9 last year, allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company.

Eight persons, including Walmik Karad, a close associate of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, were arrested under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Chate had sought discharge on the ground that there were no sufficient grounds to frame charges against him, and argued that he was not involved in the alleged abduction, assault, and murder of the deceased.

The accused contended that the prerequisites for invoking the MCOC Act were not met against him, as he was never a member of the organised crime syndicate.

Chate claimed that his name was belatedly added to the case based on supplementary statements and political pressure.

The police have alleged that Karad and the co-accused conspired to demand a ransom of Rs 2 crore from Avaada Energy Private Ltd. to allow them to operate their business in Kaij taluka and threatened to halt their work.

It claimed that when Deshmukh intervened, Karad and the co-accused conspired, kidnapped, and fatally assaulted him, leading to his death.

The accused persons then threw Deshmukh's body at Daithana Phata and fled, the police alleged.

Special public prosecutor Ujwal Nikkam, appearing for the state, submitted that there is sufficient evidence to proceed against the accused and to frame charges against him.

The court, after hearing both sides, held that "the applicant (Chate) appears to have been a member of the organised crime syndicate and was involved in continuing unlawful activities".

It found that Chate "allegedly destroyed his mobile phone after the incident, which shows his complicity and nexus" in the offences.

The accused appears to have intentionally aided the co-accused persons in the crime, it said.

"Therefore, prima facie, there are sufficient grounds to proceed against the applicant/accused, and hence, he is not entitled to be discharged," it added. PTI AVI ARU