Suspended cop reiterates Walmik Karad encounter claim; fails to provide evidence

Kasle also stated that he rejected the offer because the law must punish Walmik Karad (above) if the latter is guilty in the case. File pic.

Suspended Beed police sub-inspector Ranjit Kasle reaffirmed on Thursday that he was presented with a contract to eliminate Walmik Karad, the principal accused in the case involving Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, through an encounter.

Kasle was speaking to reporters outside Pune airport after arriving in Pune from Delhi.

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.

According to PTI, Karad is among the eight persons arrested so far and booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

When questioned about proof for his claim, Kasle said such offers are made privately, with no evidence or trail left behind, reported PTI.

Kasle also stated that he rejected the offer because the law must punish Karad if the latter is guilty in the case.

According to news agency PTI, the suspended policeman also claimed he was "kidnapped and taken to Barshi in Kolhapur" and that his duty schedule was "changed on polling day".

Kasle claimed Rs 10 lakh was transferred into his account from a company linked to a former minister.

Kasle is under suspension and a preliminary enquiry (PE) is underway against him. A case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has also been registered against Kasle for allegedly posting an objectionable comment on social media on April 2.

Police officials have repeatedly dismissed Kasle's allegations.

Beed sarpanch murder case: ‘Got offer to conduct encounter of Walmik Karad'

The state Crime Investigation Department (CID) last month filed a more than 1,200-page charge sheet at a court in Beed in Deshmukh's murder and two related cases.

Talking to a regional news channel, Kasle claimed some people had approached him with an offer to carry out the "encounter" of Karad. "I was given this offer by a group of people and I have mentioned their names in the station diary. The offer was only for Walmik Karad and was given to me before I was suspended. I refused, saying I cannot commit such a sin," he said.

"They make a lump sum offer of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50 crore. A person who can do this is called. Like I was with the cyber department and had no connection with this case, but I was made the offer because they knew I have guts," he claimed.

(With PTI inputs)