India, Dec. 24 -- In a significant development in the high-profile murder case of former Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, the district and special sessions court in Beed on Tuesday formally framed charges against all the accused, including the prime accused Walmik Karad.

The hearing was conducted before the special court, where special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam presented the prosecution's case. Nikam told the court that the murder stemmed from an attempted extortion racket allegedly resisted by Deshmukh, and that the investigation had revealed a planned and organised conspiracy behind the killing.

After reading out the charges, the judge asked the accused whether they accepted the sequence of events as presented by the prosecuti...