Cops examining if MCOCA can be invoked

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The police are examining the past record of the arrested men in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case and a related case of extortion to decide if the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) should be invoked, sources said on Thursday.

In a related development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had requested senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam to appear as a special prosecutor in the murder case.

“The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has sought old case papers and chargesheets against the arrested men,” a source said.

For pressing charges under the MCOCA, an accused must have a prior case registered against him or her, showing that the person is part of an organised crime syndicate working for pecuniary gain.

The Beed Police, meanwhile, has put up posters seeking information about the whereabouts of Sudarshan Ghule (26), Krushna Andhale (30) and Sudhir Sangle (23), all wanted accused.