Those indulging in extortion will be booked under MCOCA: Ajit Pawar tells party workers

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Those indulging in extortion will be booked under MCOCA: Ajit Pawar tells party workers

Friday, 31 January 2025 | T N RAGHUNATHA | Mumbai

Amid ongoing clamour for his party’s minister Dhananjay Munde’s resignation over the recent murder of a sarpanch, Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar on Thursday told his party workers saying that those found indulging in extortion would be booked under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Addressing his party workers on his first visit to Beed district after taking over as the guardian minister of the district, Pawar exhorted his party workers to “maintain clean character” and “not to mingle with wrong people”.

In an indirect message to Munde, Pawar said: “Maintain a clean character. Everybody should take care not to mingle with the wrong people. Our image among the people here (in Beed) should be good. Political interference will not be tolerated in the administrative works and anyone demanding extortion money in development works would be severely dealt with.”

Pawar’s statement should be seen in the context of the arrest of Walmik Karad, a close aide of Munde, in an extortion case linked to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district.

An NCP MLA from Parli constituency in his home district of Beed, Munde is the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led MahaYuti government.

Incidentally, Pawar’s statement came a day after Munde said that he would not hesitate to resign from his post if asked to do so either by Pawar or Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Munde was present when Pawar made the statement.

Maintaining that he would not hesitate to invoke MCOCA against those indulging in extortion, Pawar said: “If I come to know about such activities, I will not spare anyone and invoke MCOCA against those persons. I have already told (Chief Minister) Devendra Fadnavis that when I am taking this responsibility (as guardian minister of Beed), everyone should cooperate with me”.

Declaring that he is sadhu-sant (saint), the deputy chief minister said: “I will ensure that there is no discrimination while implementing development works in the area. If I am not going to discriminate, then I expect that those people working for me should also not discriminate against anyone. Otherwise, I will not do their work. If they try to act against me, I will not tolerate it. I am not a sadhu-sant (saint)…I am a straightforward person”.

It may be recalled that on December 9, 2024,  Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh of Massejeog village in Beed district was kidnapped and murdered brutally. Following the incident, the police arrested NCP (AP) activist Vishnu Chate, who was expelled from his party immediately afterwards.

Chate was earlier allegedly involved in an extortion case of Rs. 2 crore.  The police have found a link between the extortion case involving a windmill company and the Sarpanch murder case. In the previous (extortion) case lodged by the local windmill company, one of the accused was Walmiki Karad, who is linked to Munde. Karad is currently under police custody.

Decrying the trend of brandishing guns in the public and firing in the air being witnessed in Beed district, Pawar said: "I am also going to tell the police department to act against those found brandishing a revolver or firing in the air or moving around the place with revolver holsters on their waist. Their arm licences will be cancelled. I will not tolerate reels displaying weapons being posted on social media. Law will be equal for all, because a change should happen and people should feel the change".

On his role as the guardian minister of Beed district from where his Dhananjay Munde of the NCP and his cousin Pankaja Munde of the BJP come from, Pawar said:  “I will do the work I am expected to do as the deputy chief minister. Those works which are related to the chief minister will be taken up by him. While doing so, I will take the local people’s representatives into confidence. Dhananjay Munde and Pankaja Munde are my colleagues from this area. I will take them into confidence”.

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