The police are examining the past record of the arrested men in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case and a related case of extortion to decide if the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act should be invoked, sources said on Thursday.
In a related development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had requested senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam to appear as a special prosecutor in the murder case.
"The Crime Investigation Department has sought old case papers and chargesheets against the arrested men," a source said.
For pressing charges under the MCOCA, an accused must have a prior case registered against him or her, showing that the person is part of an organised crime syndicate working for pecuniary gain.
Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted and brutally killed on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company. Walmik Karad, an aide of Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, has been arrested in the extortion case.
Beed Police, meanwhile, has put up posters seeking information about whereabouts of Sudarshan Ghule (26), Krushna Andhale (30) and Sudhir Sangle (23), all wanted accused in the murder case.
Appropriate reward will be given for the information, the poster said.
Talking to reporters in Mumbai, CM Fadnavis said he spoke to BJP MLA from Beed, Suresh Dhas who demanded that Nikam be appointed as special public prosecutor in the case.
He has spoken to Nikam who sought a couple of days to decide if he would take up the case, Fadnavis added. Nikam was a special public prosecutor in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 terror attacks and 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that "smaller fish" could be killed in fake encounters to save the "big fish" involved in the Deshmukh murder and extortion cases.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council Ambadas Danve said the trial in the case should be conducted outside Beed district.
NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who has come under fire after the alleged involvement of his aide Karad in the extortion matter came to light, said those who murdered Santosh Deshmukh should be tried in a fast-track court and "hanged till death."
On the Opposition's demand for his resignation to facilitate a fair probe, the food and civil supplies minister said, "There can be no influence from my side as a minister, which is why the probe has been handed over to the CID."
The government on Wednesday set up a 10-member SIT to probe the case, headed by Deputy Inspector General -CID Basavraj Teli.
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