BJP MLA Suresh Dhas has made a sensational allegation that a meeting to discuss an extortion deal in Beed was held between Maharashtra food and Civil Supplies Minister Dhananjay Munde’s associate Valmik Karad and officials of a power company at Munde’s official residence in the Beed district, in June 2024.
He said on June 14, representatives of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder accused Valmik Karad and Akshay Urja company held a meeting at Munde’s residence in Beed, where they finalised an extortion deal worth Rs 3 crore. Munde’s personal assistant had also talked to some officials of the company, Dhas alleged.
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Dhas made these allegations during a protest march held by a Maratha caste organisation called the Akhand Maratha Samaj in Pune on Sunday to condemn the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in the Beed district, and the death of Dalit activist Somnath Suryawanshi in judicial custody following violence in Parbhani district.
The protest march began from Lal Mahal in the afternoon and ended at the Pune district collector’s office. Murdered Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh’s family members, former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, NCP MP Bajrang Sonawane, BJP MLA Suresh Dhas, Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil and leaders of various other parties were present at the event.
It may be recalled that Valmik Karad, the close aide of food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde, was arrested last week after he surrendered before the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Pune in connection with the extortion case linked to the murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
The BJP MLA from Beed said he has given the evidence to the police. “Valmik Karad and his personal assistant use 17 mobile phones. The Beed superintendent of police and the CID IG can recover more evidence from these phones,” Dhas said.
Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9, apparently because he tried to thwart an attempt to extort money from an energy firm operating a windmill project.
