Murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh unravels lucrative windmill business in Beed

PUNE/BEED: The murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh has sent shockwaves through the district, triggering protests across the state. There is a link between the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh and murky nexus between criminality and politics connected to the burgeoning business of wind energy in Beed. ) According to local police officials, the probe hints at the murder having stemmed from a brawl between Deshmukh and the four accused arrested on December 6 from the site of a windmill energy project being executed by Avaada Energy in Massajog village. According to the Maharashtra Energy Development Agency, sites with annual mean wind density above 200 W/m2 are considered suitable for wind power projects and Beed falls in this category. According to the first of the three FIRs filed in connection with sarpanch Deshmukh’s murder, the police have booked Walmik Karad – a local strongman closely associated with Dhananjay Munde of the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and two others – for trying to extort ₹2 crore from Avaada for allowing its operations to continue.