In the quiet village of Massajog, Beed district, Maharashtra, a gruesome crime has unraveled a web of greed, violence, and political intrigue. Santosh Deshmukh, the village sarpanch, was abducted, tortured, and murdered on December 9, 2024, in a killing tied to his defiance against an extortion racket targeting a wind energy company. The chilling details, laid bare in a 1,200-page chargesheet filed by the Maharashtra CID on February 27, 2025, chronicle a timeline of escalating threats, a brave stand, and a brutal end—painting a stark picture of organized crime’s grip on rural India.
The saga began on November 29, 2024, when Walmik Karad, a former Parli council chief and a known associate of Maharashtra’s Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dhananjay Munde, set his sights on Avaada, a wind energy firm pouring Rs 300 crore into a power generation project in Beed. Using a phone belonging to Vishnu Chate, one of his key accomplices, Karad demanded Rs 2 crore from Avaada officials. That same day, he gathered his crew—Chate, Sudarshan Ghule, Pratik Ghule, Sudhir Sangle, and Krushna Andhale—at Chate’s office in Kej town to strategize. Their goal: extract the hefty sum and cement their dominance in the region through fear.
The plot thickened on December 6, when Sudarshan Ghule, Pratik Ghule, and Sudhir Sangle descended on Avaada’s project site in Massajog. They quarreled with company staff, demanding that operations cease unless the ransom was paid. Enter Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch, who arrived to plead for reason. “Let people get employment,” he urged, “don’t shut the company’s work.” His words, meant to protect his village’s livelihood, drew a menacing response from Sudarshan Ghule: “We will see you, we will not spare you.” The threat hung heavy in the air, a grim harbinger of what was to come.
The next day, December 7, Karad escalated the stakes. In a conversation with Sudarshan Ghule, he issued a chilling directive: “If such hurdles come in our way, no company will pay us extortion money. Whosoever stands in our path should be eliminated.” He instructed Ghule to coordinate with Vishnu Chate, who would aid in silencing any resistance. The message was clear—Deshmukh’s interference had marked him for death.
On December 8, Avaada official Shivaji Thopte met Karad at his office in Parli, with Chate present. Karad reiterated his demand: Rs 2 crore or the project shuts down. Thopte’s refusal only fueled the gang’s resolve. That night, between December 8 and 9, Karad, Chate, Ghule, and their cohorts—Pratik Ghule, Sudhir Sangle, Krushna Andhale, Jayram Chate, and Mahesh Kedar—finalized their plan to extort the money and eliminate Deshmukh. The sarpanch had been relentlessly harassed by Chate’s threatening calls in the days prior, a prelude to the violence that would follow.
The fateful day arrived on December 9, 2024. Deshmukh was abducted from his village, subjected to horrific torture, and murdered—his body reportedly crushed in an act meant to “spread terror” across Beed, as the chargesheet later revealed. The killing was not just retribution but a message to anyone daring to defy Karad’s reign. In the aftermath, Vishnu Chate destroyed his mobile phone, a critical piece of evidence, in a bid to erase their tracks.
Karad’s arrest came on December 31, 2024, tied to the extortion case, while Sudarshan Ghule was apprehended in Pune on January 4, 2025, and placed in judicial custody by mid-February. The CID’s chargesheet, filed after questioning over 180 witnesses, invokes the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Karad—listed as accused number one—and his accomplices. It ties the murder to two related cases: the extortion bid against Avaada and an assault on the company’s security guard. Eleven prior cases against the accused, with chargesheets in eight, highlight their deep criminal roots. Yet, Krushna Andhale remains a fugitive, prompting a court order to seize his properties.
The murder has ignited a firestorm in Maharashtra. Protests erupted, with Deshmukh’s family marching in Mumbai and an all-party rally in Parbhani demanding justice. Opposition figures, including NCP MP Supriya Sule and activist Manoj Jarange, have accused the state of shielding Munde, whose ties to Karad have fueled calls for his resignation. On March 1, 2025, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a fast-track court trial, appointing renowned lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as special prosecutor to expedite the case. As Beed grapples with its reputation as a “lawless hub,” Deshmukh’s courage stands as a tragic testament to the cost of resisting terror.