Bandh in parts of Beed after photos linked to sarpanch's murder go viral; police step up vigil

The development came on the day Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde resigned from the state cabinet, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the sarpanch murder case.

A ’bandh’ was observed in parts of Maharashtra’s Beed district on Tuesday after gory photographs related to the killing of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh surfaced on social media.

While Kej and Patoda in the district observed a total shutdown, some other parts witnessed partial bandhs, police said.The development came on the day Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde resigned from the state cabinet, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the sarpanch murder case.”A bandh was observed in various parts of Beed.

Patoda and Kej areas of the district saw a complete bandh. The police have deployed eight riot control units in sensitive areas of the district,” a police official said.”There is no additional force deployed in Massajog village (the native place of sarpanch Deshmukh). So far, nobody has been detained or arrested in connection with the bandh,” he said.

Banners carrying the photographs of Dhananjay Munde were burnt in Kej with the protesters shouting slogans against the minister, the official said.Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9, last year, allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company in the district.The state Crime Investigation Department (CID) on February 27 filed a more than 1,200-page chargesheet at a court in Beed in Deshmukh’s murder and two related cases.

As Deshmukh was tortured and killed, his assailants recorded 15 videos, clicked eight photos and even made two video calls. The videos and the photos are part of the chargesheet submitted by the CID before a court.After these photographs surfaced on social media, various organisations gave a call for bandh to be observed on Tuesday.Minister Munde’s resignation followed a vociferous demand by the opposition for his removal from the cabinet.

The demand intensified after gory photos and court chargesheet details related to the killing of Deshmukh surfaced, revealing the brutalities committed before the murder.Three separate cases – murder of sarpanch, bid to extort money from Avaada company and assault on security guard of the firm – were registered at the Kej police station.Seven persons have been arrested so far in the murder case and the police have invoked stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against them. One of the accused is still at large.