Before going to the police, Karad posted a video on social media, announcing that he would surrender and claimed he was being linked to the murder case due to political vendetta.
Pankaja Munde of the BJP -- Dhananjay Munde's cousin -- has been made the guardian minister of Jalna district.
Thousands of people gathered in Maharashtra's Beed city on Saturday to protest against the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh as even MLAs from ruling parties demanded the sacking of Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde.
The trial of Abu Jundal, accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is set to resume after the Bombay High Court overturned a lower court order requiring authorities to hand over confidential documents to the accused.
Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Suraj Chavan on Sunday took objection to Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Dhas targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar over the probe into the murder of a sarpanch in Beed district.
Relatives of a woman doctor who committed suicide in Maharashtra are demanding capital punishment for the men she accused of rape and harassment in a note. The case involves a police officer and allegations of political pressure to alter medical reports.
A woman doctor of a government hospital allegedly died by suicide in Maharashtra's Satara district, leaving behind a note accusing two police personnel of rape and mental harassment, police said on Friday.
Police in Maharashtra's Beed district have registered a case against five persons after a purported video showing them attacking a man with a cricket bat surfaced on social media. The video, which appears to be from Bawi village, shows one Sachin Bhosale and four unidentified individuals beating a man with a cricket bat. Authorities are investigating the incident to identify the victim and ascertain the cause of the attack. The five individuals have been charged with causing hurt and using dangerous weapons.
The SIT will be headed by Crime Investigation Department's (CID) Deputy Inspector General Basavraj Teli, said an order issued by the state Home department.
Heavy rains in Nanded, Maharashtra, have caused severe flooding, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of residents as the Godavari and Asna rivers overflow. The Vishnupuri dam released a large amount of water, exacerbating the situation.
Political tensions rise in Maharashtra as OBC, SC, and ST groups express concerns over a government resolution on the Maratha quota. Chief Minister Fadnavis cautions against divisive politics, while Sharad Pawar accuses the government of weakening the social fabric.
Incessant rains and water-logging slowed down traffic in Mumbai, with the IMD issuing a 'red alert', predicting very heavy showers in the city and neighbouring areas. Commuters faced water accumulation on tracks and delays in local train services.
Quota activist Manoj Jarange demands the Maharashtra government implement a GR for issuing Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas before September 17, threatening further action if the deadline is missed.
Thousands of Maratha community members have turned the area surrounding Azad Maidan in Mumbai into a camp during their agitation for quota, disrupting traffic and daily life.
The speculation about the likely cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra strengthened on Saturday, with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stressing that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' discretion is supreme among allies.
'All commercial and banking transactions happen in South Mumbai.'
Maratha quota movement leader Manoj Jarange is heading to Mumbai to launch a fresh hunger strike, demanding reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category. He has agreed to meet a government delegation near Pune en route.
A suspended police sub-inspector from Beed, Maharashtra, India, has alleged that he was offered money to carry out an "encounter" of Walmik Karad, an accused in the murder case of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. The suspended cop, Ranjeet Kasle, claims he mentioned the names of the individuals who made the offer in a local police station diary. However, a senior police official from Beed has dismissed Kasle's claims as baseless and demanded proof. Kasle was suspended earlier while serving as a sub-inspector in the local cyber crime department. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village, was abducted and killed last December allegedly for attempting to stop extortion targeting an energy company. Karad is among eight individuals arrested in connection with the murder and charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The state Crime Investigation Department (CID) filed a chargesheet in the case last month. Kasle's claims come amidst ongoing investigations into the custodial death of Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde. Kasle has demanded a central government SIT to investigate Shinde's death, believing it will reveal the truth.
'These Marathas are farmers and they only do farming. They have no other business other than farming. Now, they want reservations because farming is no longer a profitable business.'In this interview, veteran farmers' rights advocate and founding member of the Shetkari Sanghatna, Vijay Jawandhia, with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff unpacks the historical and structural roots of the agitation.
The situation is currently under control, Beed Superintendent of Police Nandkumar Thakur told PTI.
A group of Maratha reservation activists torched the first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building and vandalised it in Maharashtra's Beed district, soon after setting on fire the residence of local NCP MLA Prakash Solanke on Monday, the police said.
Some persons put up a green flag at the temple besides a saffron flag on Monday, when Eid was celebrated. This led to tension in the village for sometime, an official from Georai police station said.
The resignation followed a vociferous demand by the opposition for Munde's removal from the cabinet.
The BJP has also not declared the candidate for Mumbai North Central, which was won by Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late Pramod Mahajan, in 2014 and 2019 on the party ticket.
The Maharashtra police has so far registered 141 cases in connection with the violence during the Maratha quota agitations and arrested 168 persons, state Director General of Police Rajnish Seth said on Wednesday.
The chargesheet in the murder case of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, reveals horrific details of the torture he endured at the hands of his abductors. The accused recorded 15 videos, clicked eight photos, and even made two video calls, documenting the brutality. Deshmukh was abducted and killed in December for attempting to foil an extortion bid on an energy company. Seven men, including a close aide of state minister Dhananjay Munde, have been arrested so far.
Walmik Karad, a close aide of Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, has been charged with ordering the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, who allegedly opposed Karad's extortion bid targeting a wind energy company. According to a chargesheet filed by the state Crime Investigation Department (CID), Karad allegedly asked his associates to "eliminate" anyone who interfered with their extortion attempt. Deshmukh was abducted, tortured, and murdered in December 2024 after he attempted to stop the extortion bid. Karad and several others have been charged with murder, extortion, and organized crime.
Beleaguered Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of a village sarpanch and three months after the new Mahayuti government assumed office.
The slain sarpanch's brother Dhananjay Deshmukh met Jarange in Beed on Thursday, a day after Karad was sent to the custody of a Special Investigation Team of the Maharashtra police.
The Maharashtra State Commission for Women has directed Mumbai Police to take immediate action on a complaint filed by actor Prajakta Mali against MLA Suresh Dhas for making inappropriate remarks about her. Mali alleged that Dhas' comments impacted her personal and social life and led to defamatory content being circulated online. The commission has instructed the Mumbai Police Commissioner to submit a factual report on the matter. Dhas has stated that he is ready to face any consequences regarding the issue and has emphasized the need to focus on the Santosh Deshmukh murder case and crime in Beed district.
A video clip of three accused in an extortion case linked to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, walking together has emerged on social media. The video also shows a suspended police officer in the group accompanying the accused. The video has sparked controversy and raised questions about the involvement of the police in the case. BJP MLA Suresh Dhas has demanded that the suspended police officer be named as a co-accused in the case and that action be taken against other police officers who have been accused of wrongdoing.
'The CM's credibility is on the line.'
Walmik Karad, an aide to Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde, was on Tuesday charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody in an extortion case allegedly linked to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchanra Pawar president Sharad Pawar on Sunday had a telephonic conversation with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about the murder of a sarpanch in Beed and the death of a man following violence in Parbhani.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has demanded the death penalty for those involved in the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, calling the crime "heinous." Shinde said that no one involved in the case, including Walmik Karad, a close aide of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, will be spared. Deshmukh was abducted and tortured to death on December 9 after he resisted an extortion attempt targeting an energy company operating a windmill project in the area. Karad was arrested in the extortion case linked to the murder after he surrendered to police in Pune on December 31.
Anyone with self-respect would have quit, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar supremo Sharad Pawar said on Monday amid demands that Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resign after his close aide was held in a case that has made national headlines.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday claimed Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde met him before the state polls last year along with his associate Walmik Karad, arrested later in an extortion case linked to the murder of a sarpanch.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will ask NCP minister Dhananjay Munde to step down if any evidence is found linking him to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder, his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil has said. A comprehensive probe is being conducted into the murder of Deshmukh, BJP leader Patil told reporters in Sangli on Sunday. Walmik Karad, an associate of minister Munde, has been arrested in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's killing. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and killed on December 9 for trying to stop an extortion attempt against an energy firm operating a windmill project there. Munde, the NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district, is under attack from some of the ruling alliance colleagues and the opposition over his links with Karad. The Maharashtra government has already seized properties of the accused in sarpanch Deshmukh murder case. Stringent charges have been invoked and the probe is going on, the BJP leader said. The police machinery is actively investigating the case, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been formed for a probe into it, Patil said. Additionally, a committee headed by a retired judge has been constituted to oversee the inquiry, the minister said. Steps are being taken, including invocation of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Walmik Karad and other accused, Patil pointed out. The process of seizing Karad's assets is also underway, he added.
Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde has denied any involvement in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, saying he is being targeted by the opposition and some leaders within the ruling alliance. He compared himself to Arjun from the Mahabharata, claiming he cannot be cornered like Abhimanyu. Munde also criticized the media trial and social media trolling he has faced since the murder.
Embattled Maharashtra minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde on Thursday said he has been diagnosed with Bell's Palsy, a condition that causes sudden weakness in face muscles, which had severely affected his ability to speak.
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