CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Vaibhavi Deshmukh, the daughter of murdered Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, on Tuesday demanded the arrest of three absconding men accused of murdering her father.
“It’s been three weeks since my father’s brutal murder, and three people involved are still at large. Why is so much time being wasted? If the delay in nabbing the absconding accused continues, we will lose hope of getting justice,” she told reporters on Tuesday..
Reacting to Valmik Karad — the key accused in the extortion case linked to Deshmukh’s murder — surrendering before the CID in Pune, Vaibhavi said it is frustrating to know that police were allegedly waiting for him (Karad) to surrender, instead of arresting him.
Seven people have so far been named accused in the case of Santosh Deshmukh’s alleged kidnap and murder on Dec 9. Three of them, including the main accused Sudarshan Ghule, are still on the run.
Meanwhile, Dhanajay Deshmukh, the younger brother of the slain sarpanch, on Tuesday met Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange. Speaking to reporters, Jarange said the Maratha community would bring Maharashtra to a halt if anyone guilty in the Deshmukh murder case is set free. “We want to tell CM Devendra Fadnavis that the Deshmukh family is looking at you for justice. The Maratha community is also looking at Fadnavis with the expectation that he will deliver justice. He has given us his word,” he said. Jarange added govt should appoint a senior advocate in this case, such as Ujjwal Nikam or anyone else the Deshmukh family wants.
Meanwhile, social activist Anjali Damania, who is camping in Beed, said Karad’s surrender is an embarrassment for police. In an X post, she reasons that since Karad’s last call trace was in Pune on Dec 17 and he surrendered also in Pune on Dec 31, it could, therefore, be assumed that he had been in the city all this while. She asked how did police not know where to find him.
Kej BJP MLA Suresh Dhas met Fadnavis in Mumbai on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters later, he said quick action by Fadnavis led to Karad’s surrender. “Karad sent the accused in the sarpanch murder case to the windmill firm’s office to demand ransom. He had already received Rs 50 lakh out of the Rs 2 crore ransom and sent the youths there to demand the remaining Rs 1.5 crore. Therefore, he will also be charged with murder,” Dhas said.
Dhas said Majalgaon NCP MLA Prakash Solanke has demanded that NCP cabinet minister Dhananjay Munde (Karad is considered Munde’s close aide) be stripped of his portfolio as long as the murder investigation continues, and he supports the demand. Beed NCP (SP) MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar also met the CM. Kshirsagar asked why Karad was on the run if he claimed to be innocent.
