Mumbai: Santosh Deshmukh, Sarpanch of the Massajog village in the Beed district of Maharashtra, was not only brutally tortured by his abductors, but the act was also photographed and videographed by the perpetrators. The photographs and videos are part of the chargesheet submitted by the CID in court.
Deshmukh was abducted on December 9, 2024, by six men. He was found unconscious by a search party of the police that same evening. He was rushed to hospital where doctors declared him dead.
The killing of this Sarpanch of a remote village made headlines across the country after it came to be known that he paid the price for attempting to foil an extortion bid on an energy company in the area. Among those arrested was a close associate of a minister in the Maharashtra government, it later came to be known.
On May 28, 2024, Sudarshan Ghule, who operates a crime syndicate in the area, abducted the project officer of the energy company. This was an extortion attempt and the Sarpanch lodged a police complaint against Ghule and members of his gang.
“Deshmukh was himself abducted about six months later by Ghule and his cronies. His clothes were torn off and he was beaten with a gas pipe and other items for nearly two-and-a-half hours. The photographs and videos reveal their brutality. One video even shows a gang member urinating on Deshmukh as he sits on the ground, bleeding profusely. In the video, Ghule makes Deshmukh shout ‘Sudarshan Ghule is the father of all.’ Two video calls were also made during this torture,” a police official told the media.
Seven persons have been arrested in this case, while one is absconding. Among those arrested is one Walmik Karad, known to be a close aide of a minister.
