Beed sarpanch murder: Karad gets 7-day police custody, his supporters stage protest

Karad’s lawyers said as none of the accused in the case named him for having been involved in the case, he should not be sent to police custody.  The court however remanded Karad to seven days police custody till January 22, during which time he will not able to apply for bail.

Even as the court remanded him to police custody, his supporters staged a protest outside the court premises. The situation grew tense as those demanding the death penalty for Karad and those supporting him raised the decibel levels. His family also held a road blockade at Karad’s native village. Some of Karad’s supporters climbed a mobile tower and an overhead water tank. They alleged that Karad was being framed in the case. His mother and wife were at the forefront of the protests in support of him.

On Tuesday, Karad was booked under the stringent MCOCA. Political leaders cutting across party lines and the family of Santosh Deshmukh had been repeatedly demanding that Karad should be booked for murder. They had alleged that the murder was committed at his behest and that he was the mastermind in the case.

Karad was arrested on December 31 after he surrendered himself before the Pune CID in connection with an extortion case related to the sarpanch’s murder case.