Beed murder protest intensifies as kin refuse last rites even on third day, seek more arrests

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Tension gripped Beed’s Kaij town for the third day on Tuesday as relatives of murdered hotel owner Vilas Ghule refused to perform his last rites, demanding the arrest of all accused and the inclusion of a senior politician’s son as a co-accused.

Police said no direct evidence has emerged against him so far.The agitation triggered a complete shutdown in Kaij and a massive traffic snarl on the Beed-Latur highway, with vehicles stranded for over five kilometres due to a prolonged rasta roko at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk.The issue echoed in the state assembly, where former minister Dhananjay Munde and BJP MLA Namita Mundada demanded that police “trace all those involved and investigate the case to its roots.”Inspector general of police Virendra Mishra went to Beed from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to review the situation, while Beed superintendent of police Navneet Kanwat held talks with protesters at the Kaij police station.“Their first demand was that all the accused in the case should be arrested. Our teams have, so far, arrested seven of the nine accused. Their second demand was for the formation of a Special Investigation Team, which has already been constituted,” Kanwat said.

On the demand to name another accused, he added, “We have asked them to submit their allegations in writing. The police will investigate the claims, and appropriate action will be taken depending on the findings.”Assistant superintendent of police R. Venkatram said the law-and-order situation was stable. “Most of the demands raised by the protesters have already been met. We are hopeful that they will withdraw the agitation and perform the victim’s last rites soon,” he said.According to police, Ghule, a hotel owner from Takli village in Kaij, was stabbed on Saturday evening when he intervened in a dispute near a roadside hotel on the Kaij-Manjarsumba road. He died during treatment at Ambajogai Government Medical College and Hospital on Sunday afternoon.The victim’s family has alleged that the politician’s son was involved and insisted his name be added as an accused, maintaining that the body will not be cremated until action is taken.The protest drew political attention, with cabinet minister Pankaja Munde and former minister Dhananjay Munde speaking to protesters over the phone and assuring support. OBC activist Laxman Hake also joined the agitation, questioning whether police were under any pressure and demanding action against the “main conspirators.”With the body lying uncremated for three days and negotiations failing to break the deadlock, the case has emerged as a major law-and-order challenge for the Beed administration.Police have arrested seven accused — Babasaheb Gorba alias Gorakh Kadam, Santosh Kadam, Suraj Bhaiysahab Gaikwad, Mangesh Kadam, Deepak Kadam, Ajay Kadam and Shubham Gaikwad — while efforts are on to nab the remaining two.