A video clip of Walmik Karad, Sudarshan Ghule and Vishnu Chate, all three of them accused in an extortion case linked to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder, walking together has emerged on social media.
In the purported video, a police officer, who has been suspended, is also seen in a group of persons accompanying the accused trio.
Although it is not clear when the video was captured, claims are now being made that it was shot on December 9 before Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted and brutally killed, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company.
Karad, who is Maharashtra NCP minister Dhananjay Munde's confidant, was arrested in the extortion case allegedly linked to the sarpanch murder. Last week, he was charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
Chate and Ghule are accused in the sarpanch murder as well as the extortion cases, while Karad is an accused in the extortion case only.
A Special Investigation Team of the Maharashtra police last week told a court in Beed that sarpanch Deshmukh was killed because he was thought to be an obstacle in the plan to extort Rs 2 crore from Avaada Energy Private Limited.
Karad had called Avaada company's representative Shivaji Thopte to his Parali office earlier and allegedly demanded Rs 2 crore. If the company did not pay, they would shut down its windmill projects in Beed, he had allegedly threatened, as per the SIT.
Besides Karad, Chate and Ghule, the video shows suspended police inspector Rajesh Patil being part of the group accompanying the trio.
After the video went viral, BJP MLA Suresh Dhas from Ashti in Beed said, "This shows that the accused are linked to extortion and murder. Police inspector (Rajesh) Patil should be named as a co-accused in the case. Police officer Mahajan should be suspended and action should be taken against police officer Garje who made a wrong statement against the sitting MP (Bajrang Sonawane)."
Dhas also alleged that an officer of Avaada company was not only threatened but was taken to Pathardi (in Ahilyanagar district) in a car, where he was beaten up.
Talking about a separate case, the BJP legislator alleged that a person named Mahadev Munde, who ran a milk business, was murdered four months ago. "The accused in the case are still roaming free. They should be arrested," he said.
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