Massajog sarpanch murder case: Court rejects Valmik Karad's discharge plea, next date Aug 4
The court has reserved its decision on the plea against the seizure of Karad's movable and immovable assets.
Karad, a close aide of NCP's then agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde, was described by the state CID as the "mastermind" behind the murder.
On Dec 9, 2024, Deshmukh was abducted from the Umri toll naka and taken to Chincholi Takli Shiv, where he was subjected to torture before being killed, and his body was disposed of near Daithana phata in Beed.
The murder sparked statewide agitation and protests. In a combined chargesheet filed on Feb 27, the CID concluded that Deshmukh's murder resulted from a larger conspiracy by Karad and his seven aides "to create a reign of terror by eliminating anyone coming in the way of their Rs2 crore extortion bid" on a renewable energy firm, which invested over Rs300 crore in a windmill plant at Kaij in Beed district.
The Rs 2 crore extortion bid on Nov 29, 2024, is one of three cases, the other two being the abduction and murder of Deshmukh and the Dec 6 assault on the firm's employees.
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Following the court's order on Tuesday, Karad's aide, Vishnu Chate, and five other co-accused filed applications seeking discharge in the case.
The prosecution opposed Karad's plea for bail in the case. "We have opposed Karad's bail plea and the discharge pleas filed by other co-accused," special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said. He said, "Today (Tuesday), we filed a plea requesting the court to frame draft charges against Valmik Karad and his associates under 12 to 13 different sections.
The hearing on this plea will be held later. The discharge applications filed by the accused in the Deshmukh murder case have been submitted belatedly.
As per legal provisions, such applications should be filed within two months of the chargesheet being submitted. However, they failed to do so. Hence, we have also urged the court to reject these applications. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for Aug 4."
Meanwhile, Karad's lawyer Vikas Khade said they will approach the high court to challenge the trial court's rejection of Karad's discharge application.
"A hearing on Karad's discharge plea was held, during which the court dismissed the application." Karad's bail application has also been submitted before the court. "Additionally, discharge applications have been filed by the lawyers of all the accused," Khade said.
Further informing that arguments were also presented by both sides regarding the seizure of property, he said, "We submitted our plea to lift the restrictions on the frozen bank account.
The hearing on this matter has been completed, and the court is expected to give its decision on the next date."
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A special MCOCA court in Beed on Tuesday rejected former Parli municipal council chief Valmik Karad's plea seeking discharge in the case of abduction and murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. The court has reserved its decision on the plea against the seizure of Karad's movable and immovable assets.
Karad, a close aide of NCP's then agriculture minister Dhananjay Munde, was described by the state CID as the "mastermind" behind the murder.
On Dec 9, 2024, Deshmukh was abducted from the Umri toll naka and taken to Chincholi Takli Shiv, where he was subjected to torture before being killed, and his body was disposed of near Daithana phata in Beed. The murder sparked statewide agitation and protests. In a combined chargesheet filed on Feb 27, the CID concluded that Deshmukh's murder resulted from a larger conspiracy by Karad and his seven aides "to create a reign of terror by eliminating anyone coming in the way of their Rs2 crore extortion bid" on a renewable energy firm, which invested over Rs300 crore in a windmill plant at Kaij in Beed district.
The Rs 2 crore extortion bid on Nov 29, 2024, is one of three cases, the other two being the abduction and murder of Deshmukh and the Dec 6 assault on the firm's employees. Following the court's order on Tuesday, Karad's aide, Vishnu Chate, and five other co-accused filed applications seeking discharge in the case.
The prosecution opposed Karad's plea for bail in the case. "We have opposed Karad's bail plea and the discharge pleas filed by other co-accused," special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said.
He said, "Today (Tuesday), we filed a plea requesting the court to frame draft charges against Valmik Karad and his associates under 12 to 13 different sections. The hearing on this plea will be held later. The discharge applications filed by the accused in the Deshmukh murder case have been submitted belatedly.
As per legal provisions, such applications should be filed within two months of the chargesheet being submitted.
However, they failed to do so. Hence, we have also urged the court to reject these applications. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for Aug 4."
Meanwhile, Karad's lawyer Vikas Khade said they will approach the high court to challenge the trial court's rejection of Karad's discharge application. "A hearing on Karad's discharge plea was held, during which the court dismissed the application." Karad's bail application has also been submitted before the court.
"Additionally, discharge applications have been filed by the lawyers of all the accused," Khade said.
Further informing that arguments were also presented by both sides regarding the seizure of property, he said, "We submitted our plea to lift the restrictions on the frozen bank account. The hearing on this matter has been completed, and the court is expected to give its decision on the next date."
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