Beed Sarpanch murder: Supporters of Karad protest MCOCA with stone pelting

Supporters of Walmik Karad who was arrested in an extortion case connected to the murder of a sarpanch in Beed district on Tuesday threw stones at buses and set tyres on fire in Parli town after MCOCA was invoked against him police saidKarad an aide to Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde has been charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act MCOCA an official saidIn their demonstration hundreds of his supporters targeted public transport set tyres ablaze damaged property and attempted to block roads while chanting slogans in Karadrsquos favour and calling for a bandh shutdown reported news agency PTIThe protest took place despite the prohibitory orders in Beed district that are effective until January 28 Authorities reported that they have filed two cases related to the damage inflicted during these protests on TuesdayThe prohibitory orders have been imposed because of the protests against the sarpanch murder case and quotarelated agitations by Maratha and OBC activists PTI statedThe district administration said in a release issued on Monday that the assembly of five or more persons without permission from authorities has been prohibited and people are not allowed to carry weapons in public placesThe context of these events stems from the abduction torture and murder of Santosh Deshmukh the sarpanch of Massajog village on December 9 Preliminary investigations indicate that Deshmukh had opposed an extortion attempt targeting an energy firm involved in windmill projects in the areaSo far the Kej police have arrested seven individuals in connection with the murder while one more suspect remains at large On Tuesday a court placed Karad in 14day judicial custodyBeed sarpanch murder Walmik Karadrsquos mother protests in Beed demands his releaseParubai Karad mother of extortion case accused Walmik Karad staged a protest outside the Parli police station in Beed district on Tuesday demanding her sons release and claiming his innocence Karad an associate of Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde was arrested on 31 December 2024 in connection with an extortion case tied to the murder of Santosh Deshmukh the sarpanch of Massajog villageAccording to PTI reports Parubai Karad vocally asserted her sonrsquos innocence stating My son has not done anything and he should be released Even if my life ends I will not get up from here The protest witnessed the participation of approximately 50 of Walmik Karadrsquos supporters who gathered in solidarity outside the police stationWhen questioned about the allegations against her son Parubai dismissed them as fabricated saying I donrsquot know who is doing this but this is all fake She further accused BJP MLA Suresh Dhas and NCP SP MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar of falsely implicating her son and demanded their arrestWith inputs from PTI