Police in Beed, in the eye of a storm since the December 9 murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, said the district recorded 40 murder cases in 2024, which was lower than the 64 witnessed in 2023. However, the number of cases pertaining to attempt to murder rose from 165 in 2023 to 191 in 2024.
Massajog sarpanch Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered for reportedly trying to stop an extortion bid on an energy firm operating a windmill project, as per police. A murder case and an extortion case linked to the killing are being probed by the CID’s special investigation team.
However, Beed police have been severely criticised by social activists and opposition parties for the poor law and order situation, the alleged free run of extortion case key accused Walmik Karad, a close aide of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde and the disproportionate number of gun licences in the district.
“In 2024, we registered 64 cases of murder, which came down by 24 in 2024. We registered 40 murder cases in 2024. In 2023, we managed to solve 60 of the 64 cases, while in 2024 all murder cases were cracked,” an official said while disseminating crime statistics of the district.
“The attempt to murder cases increased from 165 in 2023 to 191 in 2024. There were also around 1,500 cases of accidental deaths, which include those due to suicides, motor vehicle accidents, drowning, electrocution and snakebites. These cases are from six sub-divisions of the district. Parli witnessed 86 such deaths, comprising 63 in the urban area and 23 in the rural parts,” he informed.
While action was taken against nine organised gangs in 2023, the figure was five for 2024, the official added.
“Beed police took preventive action against 10,119 persons in 2023. This number rose to 10,951 in 2024,” he said.
Staff at panchayat offices abstain from work
The staff at nearly 28,000 panchayat offices across Maharashtra skipped work on Thursday demanding justice for the family of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, claimed a district office-bearer of their association.
Madhav Gambhire, the Latur district working president of ‘Sarpanch Seva Mahasangh’, said they have demanded ₹50 lakh assistance for Deshmukh’s family and a government job for one member.
The association also wants permission for village heads to carry firearms and security arrangements for them, besides comprehensive insurance coverage. No work was done at 28,000 panchayat offices in the state as a mark of protest, said Gambhire.
