Put an end to Beed-like brutality

Devendra Fadnavis. File pic

The gorier Parli tehsil in Beed district of Maharashtra is at the centre stage of crime stories of our times. A gruesome murder of a sarpanch of Massajog village would beat the wildest imagination of crime thriller writers. The murder has unravelled an organised crime syndicate that has allegedly boomed under political patronage.

It's all about big money extorted from the investors of mega-infra projects and contractors who cannot get jobs without political approvals. The ring is said to be operated by a powerful person, who is allegedly considered very close to a local leader belonging to a political family. The ‘operator' has surrendered, some accused have been arrested, and some are still at large. The alleged ‘master' is under pressure to quit from a position in the government. Locals say whatever has come out so far is the tip of an iceberg that needs to be broken into pieces to unravel the evidence that should help punish the accused. Or else, the case will be mired in a prolonged legal battle, and the episode will soon be forgotten.

The murder case is still alive and being followed up for the past three to four weeks, thanks to the local politicians. A BJP legislator from Beed district has been persistent in demanding action against his young party colleague's murder, and the ‘master's' ouster. He has been joined by leaders from across the parties, except the one with which the ‘operator and his master' are affiliated. The party in question hasn't taken a firm stand yet. Its chief is said to be abroad and expected to speak up on his return. The BJP and Shinde Sena have been vocal in demanding capital punishment for the accused. CM Devendra Fadnavis, whose Home Department is now under pressure to perform in the Massajog murder, has assured results by applying MCOCA (the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act). Now, the onus rests on the efforts of the CID team to prove that the matter is fit for trial under MCOCA.

Protect investors

Not very long ago, the state was rocked by the Mumbai and Mulshi patterns in which the urban mafias grabbed land using muscle and gun power. The Parli-Beed pattern represents, among others, a rural mafia of an equally brutal kind. Parli's state-owned thermal power plant where thousands of tons of fly ash is produced annually is said to be the genesis of organised crime. Like the sand mafia (Mumbai Metropolitan Region is well aware of this kind), the ash mafia worked in tandem with powers that be. You find an active crime ring wherever there are rivers full of sand beds. The alleged mastermind of the Massajog murder was considered the final authority in ash lifting - for free or for money. The fly ash is used in the construction of roads, flyovers, and embankments, and for making bricks, blocks, tiles, cement, concrete, and plaster. One can imagine the financial turnover of those involved. According to locals, the lifestyles of the stakeholders stood testimony to the riches they have made through the illegal business.

Recently, the district saw a spurt of very expensive windmills being installed by top companies in the renewable energy sector. The windmills need huge parcels of land on lease from the farmers and government. It was one such bid of extorting crores of rupees from a windmill company that led to Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder. It is said Deshmukh tried to stop the accused from extortion but was brutally killed in return. Reports said that a manager of this very company was earlier kidnapped to extort money. In this context, the investors' fear of the local mafia becomes very serious. The thermal power station that is owned by the state may not shift elsewhere, but the private investors would think twice if such crimes proliferate in the areas where they plan to work. People have compared Beed with some northern states where criminal violence prevents investments. CM Fadnavis, who heads the Home Department, must deal with the criminals spreading terror with an iron hand because such a comparison doesn't augur well for Maharashtra which has attracted the highest of the total FDI in the country in the first six months of the current financial year.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore

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