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.
He will hold the office till February 9, 2027.
Coming down heavily on the Chhattisgarh government for removing an elected woman sarpanch of a remote village for 'unjustified reasons', the Supreme Court on Monday observed the state wanted the village head to go with a 'begging bowl before a babu (bureaucrat)'.
Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was threatened by some unidentified persons days before his murder following a quarrel at a windmill company, his wife claimed on Monday.
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.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has been booked by Beed police for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde over the murder of a sarpanch in the district. The FIR was registered based on a complaint by Tukaram Aghav, who alleged that Jarange's remarks were aimed at creating a divide in society. The activist had targeted Munde during a rally in Parbhani, stating that the Maratha community would not allow Munde to roam the streets if the sarpanch's family was harmed. Munde's supporters protested against Jarange, demanding action against him. The sarpanch, Santosh Deshmukh, was abducted, tortured, and murdered on December 9, allegedly for trying to prevent extortion from an energy firm. Seven individuals have been arrested in connection with the murder case, including Walmik Karad, an associate of Munde, who has been arrested in the extortion case. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) is probing the cases.
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.
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.
Amid opposition call for his resignation over the Beed sarpanch murder case, Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde on Wednesday said he is ready to quit if asked by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis or deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
The accused, Sudarshan Chandrabhan Ghule (26) and Sudhir Sangle (23), were handed over to the special investigation team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the case, the official said.
A Special Investigation Team of Maharashtra Police told a court at Beed on Wednesday that Santosh Deshmukh was killed because he was thought to be an obstacle in a plan to extort Rs 2 crore from an energy firm, and Walmik Karad was in contact with his killers when the crime was executed.
Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, previously booked for social media posts, has petitioned the Supreme Court for the release of his passport, a condition of his bail. The court will consider the plea on November 18.
The auction, a violation of democratic norms, has been condemned by several political leaders. Elections to gram panchayats in Punjab will be held on October 15.
Police are examining the past records of the arrested men in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case and a related case of extortion to decide if the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) should be invoked, sources said on Thursday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had requested senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam to appear as a special prosecutor in the murder case. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has sought old case papers and chargesheets against the arrested men. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted and brutally killed on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company. Beed Police has put up posters seeking information about whereabouts of three wanted accused in the murder case. CM Fadnavis said he spoke to BJP MLA from Beed, Suresh Dhas who demanded that Nikam be appointed as special public prosecutor in the case. Nikam was a special public prosecutor in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 terror attacks and 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that "smaller fish" could be killed in fake encounters to save the "big fish" involved in the Deshmukh murder and extortion cases. Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council Ambadas Danve said the trial in the case should be conducted outside Beed district. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who has come under fire after the alleged involvement of his aide Karad in the extortion matter came to light, said those who murdered Santosh Deshmukh should be tried in a fast-track court and "hanged till death." The government on Wednesday set up a 10-member SIT to probe the case, headed by Deputy Inspector General -CID Basavraj Teli.
A batch of 35 Indians deported from the US included people from Kaithal, Karnal, and Kurukshetra districts in Haryana. They recounted their experiences and the financial burdens they faced trying to immigrate to the US.
Justice Surya Kant is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, bringing extensive experience and a record of significant verdicts on key issues.
On November 18, 1962, 114 soldiers of the 13th Kumaon fought till the last man, and last bullet, in sub-zero temperatures, to beat back the huge Chinese army. We salute the Heroes of Rezang La.
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 Supreme Court intervened to ensure a tragedy-struck widow received compensation from the Railways after a 20-year legal battle following her husband's death in a train accident.
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.
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.
Both NDA and INDIA are racing to woo marginalised groups with Assembly polls fast approaching.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has caused a flutter by revealing that Hinjewadi IT Park in Pune is 'moving out' to Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
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.
For nearly two decades, Nitish Kumar has cultivated women as a distinct constituency. 'To create a broader vote base, he thought it would be better to bring women to electoral politics.'
The invitation cards for the 79th Independence Day celebration also carry the Operation Sindoor logo, and the water mark of Chenab bridge to exemplify the rise of 'Naya Bharat'. Floral decorations at the venue will also be based on 'Operation Sindoor'.
Terrorists struck at two places in Kashmir on Saturday night, killing a former sarpanch in Shopian and injuring a tourist couple from Rajasthan in Anantnag, two days ahead of Lok Sabha elections in Baramulla.
'We have created massive infrastructure in the past six years.'
The Supreme Court of India has upheld a Bombay High Court order reinstating a woman as the sarpanch of a Maharashtra village, stating that bureaucrats cannot be allowed to "frustrate grassroot democracy." The court criticized instances of bureaucrats misbehaving with elected representatives and attempting to disqualify them by reopening old cases. The case involved Kalavati Rajendra Kokale, whose resignation from the sarpanch's post was withdrawn, but the Raigad district collector declared a vacancy and conducted a fresh election. The court found the collector's actions illegal and upheld Kokale's reinstatement, highlighting the importance of respecting the democratic process and elected representatives at the grassroots level.
The tension gripped the area after a man was arrested for allegedly sharing an objectionable post about the Yoga Day, they said.
Villagers gathered at the house of Maithili Moreshwar Patil after news of the tragedy started dominating news headlines, with most recollecting the hard work she put in to pursue her dreams in the aviation sector despite coming from a humble background.
The Bombay High Court has criticized the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) for failing to take action against illegal structures in Navi Mumbai. The court questioned whether the rule of law or the rule of muscle power prevails in the state, noting that CIDCO officers were threatened by a local sarpanch when they attempted to take action. The court directed CIDCO to demolish the unauthorized structures within a week and ordered the Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner to provide protection to CIDCO officers.
Ashoka Univeristy associate professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad has been arrested for his social media post on Operation Sindoor, police said in Sonipat on Sunday.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea of Ashoka University's political science department head Ali Khan Mahmudabad challenging his arrest for social media posts related to Operation Sindoor.
The Supreme Court has questioned the line of investigation adopted by the Haryana SIT in the case of an Ashoka University professor booked for social media posts, stating that it "misdirected itself."
A regular morning alive with the chatter of students assembling for prayers quickly turned into tragedy on Friday when a portion of their government school building collapsed, killing seven children and injuring 27, some of them critically.
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.
A statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, was stolen from a village in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district just two days after it was installed. Police have registered a case of theft and are investigating the incident. The statue was installed in Bari village on Tuesday and was reported missing on Thursday. The villagers had crowdfunded to purchase the statue. Police have detained two suspects in connection with the theft.
Before her flight to London, Air India crew member Maithili Patil had made a final, comforting promise to her father, Moreshwar Patil, that she would call him once she reached the city. But the call did not come.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances