Santosh Deshmukh, 44, was sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district. On Dec 9, he was abducted, beaten and tortured to death by a group of men who intercepted his car while he was on his way home.
Deshmukh was popular. He had won awards for his work. Beed district is now in upheaval. Protesters have blocked roads and highways, a bus has been torched and over 100 people face rioting charges. How did a murder trigger such unrest?
Timeline
May 28: Employees of a pvt windmill co, Avaada, in Kej tehsil kidnapped by group of men who allegedly demand Rs 2 crore for operations to resume. Company was in the process of acquiring land for windmill project. Main accused is one Ramesh Ghule; Kej police register case.
Dec 6: Group led by Ghule turns up at Avaada site in Massajog, assaults employees and guard who try to stop them from entering. Message sent to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh who, along with a few villagers, rushes to spot.
They scuffle with the group and Deshmukh exchanges blows with a man identified as Sudarshan Ghule. The incident is recorded on mobile phone cameras by villagers, who keep the videos as status messages in an apparent message to the miscreants. Ghule is arrested but is out on bail a day later.
Dec 9: Around 3 pm, these accused, led by Sudarshan Ghule, intercept Deshmukh’s car and pull him into an SUV. His body is found hours later.
Dec 10: Massajog village erupts in anger. Scores of people, backed by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, block highway for nearly 12 hours. A bus is torched. Police file complaints against 150 villagers. Roads in Kej blocked, another 125 people booked for rioting charges.
Dec 11: Cops in Kej register an FIR for the extortion attempt against Avaada. This FIR names Valmik Karad, believed to be a close aide of food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde, as accused.
Anger against crime➤ Valmik Karad has been described by Beed locals as a ‘local Baahubali,’ who saw himself as “above the law”
➤ Karad has at least 10 criminal cases against him, from attempt to murder to kidnapping
➤ His business interests range from real estate to sand mining. He’s also the “go-to” man in the region for minister Dhananjay Munde, responsible for organizing political campaigns and events
Political tanglePoliticians across party lines are believed to have seen opportunity when protesters began to gather. For some, it was just a case of sour grapes. Dhananjay Munde’s fortunes in state politics have upset senior MLAs and MPs from the region.
In Beed, MLAs like Prakash Solunke, Suresh Dhas have won elections 4-5 times but haven’t secured ministerial berths. Even MLAs like Jitendra Awhad, who is from the Vanjari community and second-term MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar, an OBC, have targeted Munde and Karad.
CM Devendra Fadnavis’ aide and BJP MLA Abhimanyu Pawar too has joined protests. It’s an opportunity for quota activist Manoj Jarange too. Valmiki Karad is from the Vanjari community, which has an exclusive 2.5% reservation in the OBC quota. Its members have resisted inclusion of Marathas in OBC quota.
Delicate situation for Munde cousinsThe situation has become delicate for cousins Dhananjay Munde and Pankaja Munde both have faced calls to resign. Pankaja has largely been quiet over the matter though Deshmukh was a loyalist and BJP supporter. The Mundes have not even visited Deshmukh’s family
Who was Santosh Deshmukh?A popular figure in Massajog village, described as friendly and accessible. Had MA degree. Entered active politics in 2013. In 2017, his wife Ashwini won sarpanch polls. In 2022, Deshmukh followed, winning election with big majority.
Under the couple’s leadership, Massajog won 19 awards in 7 years, including recognition for having best water supply and sanitation systems in Marathwada.
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