MUMBAI, July 31 -- After spiralling pressure from the villagers of Parli for an investigation into the murder of Mahadev Munde, a real estate contractor who was killed in October 2023, CM Devendra Fadnavis is set to meet his widow, Dnyaneshwari, on Thursday morning. The residents of Parli and Ambejogai have come together to demand action in not just Munde's case but in dozens of other murders that they say were not registered by the police because of political pressure. The brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in December 2024 and the ensuing outcry led to the arrest of local goon Walmik Karad, who is allegedly the right-hand man of former NCP minister Dhananjay Munde. Beed's villagers allege that Karad had a hand in all the murders in the region. Dnyaneshwari Munde, who has been fighting for justice for 20 months, visits the office of the superintendent of police (SP) almost every week. The Parli police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) but the investigation has not gained any momentum. "We are demanding an SIT under IPS officer Pankaj Kumawat and inspector Santosh Sable, who were serving in Parli two years ago, and have a very good reputation here," said Dnyaneshwari's brother Satish Phad. "When we meet the CM, we will hand over all the documents, videos and photographs to prove the brutality with which my brother-in-law was murdered by people close to Walmik Karad." On July 25, over 1,500 people from Kanerwadi and Bhopla, the native villages of Dnyaneshwari's father and husband, held a five-hour rasta roko to push for an investigation into the murder. Before this, Dnyaneshwari consumed poison outside the SP's office in Beed but was saved. The Maratha community is also planning a protest under Manoj Jarange-Patil on August 1 in Beed. B B Patil, coordinator of the Maratha Kranti Morcha, claimed there were at least 2,000 cases of murder and attempted murder in Beed in the last five years that were registered as accidental deaths due to political pressure. "If the Mahadev Munde and Bapu Andhale cases are investigated properly, others will find the courage to demand fresh investigations," he said. Maralwadi sarpanch Andhale was killed in a gang war in Parli in June 2024, in which Walmik Karad was reportedly directly involved. Other cases "buried" by the police cited by local activists are those of Band Munde, who was murdered in June 2023, and Zarin Khan, who died in the custody of the Parli police. Both cases were also allegedly linked to Walmik Karad. Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, told the assembly in March that 36 murder cases were registered in Beed between January and October 2024 while the number was as high as 275 in five years. A total of 766 cases of attempt to murder were registered in the last five years. Beed SP Navneet Kawat claimed that the police did all they could in the Munde murder case. "Every offence has an expiry date, as the evidence vanishes with the passing of time," he said. "The police investigated every angle-financial affairs, land transactions, family disputes-and also checked Munde's call records, but nothing came of it. The SIT too has not got a lead so far." Kawat said that those who wanted fresh investigations into the old cases would have to approach the courts. The SP added that the number of murder cases in Beed had reduced "drastically". "Till July 2025, 15 cases have been registered, 10 down from the 25 registered between January and July last year," he said....