Suspended cop alleges he was offered money to stage fake encounter of Karad; SP rubbishes claim

Suspended Beed police inspector (PI) Ranjeet Kasale has alleged that he was offered a huge sum to carry out a fake encounter of Walmik Karad, an aide of former Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde. In a video shared on social media, Kasale claimed he was approached with offers ranging from ₹10- ₹50 crore for staging the fake encounter.

Kasale, the suspended cop who was last posted with the Beed cyber department, made serious allegations against top political and police officials. Navneet Kanwat, superintendent of police (SP), Beed, has dismissed Kasale’s claims, calling him “one of the worst officers in Maharashtra police with a tainted record”.

Karad is one of the eight accused arrested by the Beed police in connection with the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in December last year.

In the video, Kasale said, “I saw a news article on TV about filing an FIR against five policemen and constituting a SIT (special investigation team) in the Akshay Shinde case. It would be futile to set up such a probe team as one formed by the central government only will to bring out the truth. I was offered ₹10 crore, ₹20 crore, and even ₹50 crore at one point to stage a fake encounter of Walmik Karad. I told those offering me money that I would not commit such a crime. Wherever a police officer is posted, they call him to the department concerned for such jobs. They knew I had the guts to carry out an encounter.”

Police had arrested Shinde, 24, on the charges of sexually assaulting two kindergarten girls inside the toilet of a school in Badlapur town of Thane district in Maharashtra. He was the school attendant. He later died in an alleged encounter while being taken in a van from Taloja prison to Thane for questioning.

Kasale alleged that a secret meeting was held between the chief minister, deputy chief minister, and a team of four senior police officers to plan the encounter.

“In that meeting, the future course of action was decided, and a separate team of five to six men was readied for the job. The team assigned for the encounter is offered huge amounts of money. If an inquiry is ordered later, they assure you that, being in power, they will help exonerate you of charges. This is how fake encounters are staged,” Kasale alleged.

Kanwat said, “He is suspended, yet continues to defame the government. Strict action has been initiated against him. There is a video where he himself is seen offering his services for money. The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) has a case against him, and several senior officers have submitted default reports about his conduct. He is spreading fake information to divert attention, as he is being probed. He has violated police service rules and has a tainted record. By resorting to social media, he is trying to pressurise the department.”