Have requested Nikam to be special PP in sarpanch murder case Maharashtra CM

Mumbai, Jan 2 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said he has requested senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam to be the special public prosecutor in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case in Beed.
Talking to reporters, Fadnavis said he spoke to BJP MLA Suresh Dhas, who gave him a memorandum demanding that Nikam be appointed as the special public prosecutor in the case.
The CM said that Nikam has sought a time of a couple of days to decide if he would take up the case.
"I have requested him (Nikam to take up the case). If he agrees, then we will definitely appoint him," the CM said.
Nikam was a special public prosecutor in several high profile cases, including the 26/11 terror attacks and 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.
Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Kej tehsil of Beed district, was abducted and tortured to death on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company.
The opposition as well as MLAs from the ruling party have been demanding that Walmik Karad, the aide of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, be booked for Deshmukh's murder. Karad surrendered before police in Pune on Tuesday.
The state government on Wednesday formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by IPS officer Basavaraj Teli to investigate the brutal killing of Deshmukh.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)