JALNA: Activists of a Maratha outfit staged a protest against the murder of a sarpanch in Beed, showing black flags to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Jalna on Monday.
Activists of the Maratha Mahasangh showed black flags to Pawar, who attended an event of the Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) district unit.
Arvind Deshmukh, the district president of Maratha Mahasangh, led the demonstration, with activists raising slogans condemning the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, and the death of Dalit man, Somnath Suryavanshi, arrested in connection with the violence in judicial custody.
"Pawar, who is the guardian minister of Beed, should ensure justice to the families of the murdered sarpanch and the Dalit man in Parbhani," Arvind Deshmukh said.
Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 prima facie for attempting to stop an extortion bid on an energy firm operating a windmill project in the region.
Suryavanshi, 35, died at a state-run hospital in Parbhani on December 15 while in judicial custody, days after he was arrested in connection with violence in Parbhani over the desecration of the glass-encased replica of the Constitution.
The state government has set up panels to probe both these incidents.