The chargesheet names eight accused, including Walmik Karad, a close aide of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra’s former Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, Dhananjay Munde. Karad has been identified as the chief conspirator. Munde, under mounting political pressure, resigned from his ministerial position on Tuesday, though sources in the SIT indicated that no new names would be added to the chargesheet unless fresh evidence emerges.

According to the chargesheet, the videos were not just a record of the crime but were intended to send a chilling message to anyone opposing the extortion racket operated by Karad and his associates. Deshmukh had previously thwarted their extortion attempt at a windmill energy project by Avaada Energy in Massajog village. The chargesheet alleges that Karad ordered the attack after Deshmukh’s intervention disrupted their plan to extract Rs 2 crore from the company.

Two days before the murder, Karad reportedly instructed Sudarshan Ghule, one of the arrested accused, to “take care of Deshmukh.” On December 9, Deshmukh was abducted and tortured between 3:46 pm and 5:53 pm. The videos, ranging from 5 seconds to 2 minutes and 4 seconds, were recovered from the phone of accused Mahesh Kedar. A panch witness who observed the examination of the phone provided detailed descriptions of the footage, which has been cited in the chargesheet.

The witness’s statements paint a chilling picture of the torture. Describing one of the videos, the witness said: “Video 1 is being played in which five people are seen abusing and beating a man wearing a white-grey check shirt with weapons like a wrench pipe… and kicking him.” In another video, the witness described seeing “five people… punching and kicking the person… Also, a person wearing a black T-shirt is seen removing the pants of the person who is being beaten.”

One of the most disturbing clips showed Deshmukh being forced to utter demeaning statements under duress. According to the witness, “A person forces this person to say ‘Sudarshan Ghule ha sarvancha baap aaheyt (Sudarshan Ghule is everyone’s father)’. He then stands on top of this person and appears to urinate on him.”

Another video depicted Deshmukh stripped to his underwear, visibly injured, as one of the assailants pulled his hair back and forced him to speak while another person filmed the scene. Describing a photograph retrieved from Kedar’s phone, the witness stated: “In this photo, a battered and injured person is seen sitting in a white-grey checkered shirt. His back shows multiple black, reddish sores.”

The chargesheet also revealed that Deshmukh was abducted in a light-coloured Scorpio with the license plate number F 333, which was clearly visible in one of the videos.

According to a source close to the investigation, “The accused wanted to make an example of Deshmukh and hence they recorded the video. They wanted to use it to threaten anyone who tried to get in the way of them demanding extortion money.”

The chargesheet further mentions that on December 6, Karad’s men allegedly visited the windmill energy project site to halt operations as their extortion demand had not been met. However, Deshmukh intervened, forcing them to retreat. The next day, Karad allegedly called Ghule, instructing him to “take care of the sarpanch” or risk losing control over the extortion racket.

As the details of the chargesheet emerged, opposition parties intensified their attacks on the Maharashtra government, demanding a deeper probe into Munde’s alleged links to the case. BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule accused the state administration of shielding influential figures involved in the crime. Protests erupted across Beed district, with villagers blocking highways and demanding justice for Deshmukh.

Sources in the SIT, however, indicated that no new names would be added to the chargesheet unless further evidence was found. “The chargesheet names eight accused against whom we have found evidence in connection with the murder of Santosh Deshmukh. Based on the evidence so far, no new names will be added. Unless some new evidence crops up, the chargesheet will have no new names,” said a source.

The brutality of Deshmukh’s murder has raised questions about the nexus between politics and crime in Maharashtra’s rural areas. As demands for a CBI probe grow louder, the focus shifts to ensuring justice for a sarpanch who dared to stand against corruption and paid with his life.

The post Extortion, Torture, Murder: How Beed Sarpanch’s Killing Unraveled a Political Web first appeared on New Delhi Post.