BJP MLA says sarpanch murder accused Karad assaulted in jail prison official denies claim

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Mar 31 (PTI) Maharashtra BJP MLA Suresh Dhas on Monday claimed Walmik Karad, lodged in Beed district jail in connection with the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case, was assaulted by members of a rival gang, an assertion denied by a top prison official.
Speaking to reporters in Beed, Dhas said the alleged assault on Karad and his co-accused in the case Sudarshan Ghule was triggered by an argument over making a phone call from a room allotted to inmates to talk to their family members by the jail administration.
The MLA from Ashti in Beed district in central Maharashtra's Marathwada region said longstanding rivalry between local gangster Baban Gitte and Karad could have led to the alleged assault. According to Dhas, Gitte supporters clashed with Karad and Ghule inside the prison.
"Karad's rivalry with Gitte goes back a long time. Karad used to say he would not wear footwear until he killed Baban, while Baban would say he would not shave until Walmik was dead," said the ruling party legislator who has been regularly speaking on the Deshmukh murder case.
However, B N Mulani, superintendent of Beed district jail, in a statement clarified there was no assault on Karad or his co-accused Ghule inside the prison as being reported by a section of the media.
Mulani informed that there was an incident in the morning in which two inmates under judicial custody -- Sudeep Sonavane and Rajesh Waghmode -- had a verbal altercation when they assembled in the room allotted to prisoners to make phone calls to their family members.
The prison's security personnel immediately intervened, separated the two and brought the situation under control, he said.
A case in this regard was registered at the Shivajinagar police station, said the statement.
While talking to reporters, MLA Dhas said he had urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, to shift Karad and his co-accused to another jail.
He demanded that Karad, an aide of NCP leader and former state minister Dhananjay Munde, and the other accused arrested in the sarpanch murder case be moved to a jail either in Amravati district or Nagpur in the Vidarbha region.
Dhas questioned privileges enjoyed by certain inmates in the Beed jail.
"How is it that some accused persons get food from outside? Why were Karad and Ghule not moved to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (jail)? Why do some accused persons demand that they be lodged in Beed or Latur jail? he asked.
Dhas claimed there have been complaints that "aka" (apparently referring to Karad) has access to a "special phone" and special food in the jail and demanded that the Beed superintendent of police (SP) visit the prison and look into these matters.
Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted and tortured to death on December 9 last year allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company.
Eight persons, including Karad, have been arrested so far and booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
The other arrested accused are Sudarshan Ghule, Vishnu Chate, Jairam Chate, Mahesh Kedar, Sudhir Sangale, Prateek Ghule and Siddharth Sonawane. One Krishna Andhale is wanted in the case.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)