- By Shubham Bajpai
- Sun, 15 Jun 2025 06:40 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra's Deputy CM on Sunday lauded the success of Vaibhai Deshmukh, daughter of former Beed Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh whose murder triggered a massive political upheaval in the state. Vaibhavi has cleared the NEET examination.
In a post on X, Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Beed, termed her success as a lesson in facing challenges that goes far beyond academic excellence.
"Her journey is about unwavering determination in the face of adversity and is sure to inspire an entire generation," he said. "Vaibhavi's success cannot be measured by marks alone. Despite enduring personal hardships and battling extremely challenging circumstances, she refused to be discouraged or lose focus. Channelling her grief into grit, she persevered with discipline, dedication, and clarity of purpose to pursue and realize her dream of a career in medicine," the deputy CM asserted in his X post.
Satosh Deshmukh was kidnapped, tortured, and killed on December 9 last year. He was allegedly killed for stopping an extortion attempt on an energy company.
Valmik Karad, a close aide of Dhananjay Munde, an NCP leader was arrested along with several others. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) had targeted the Mahayuti government over the killing. The accused were booked under tough laws, including the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita.
As the row escalated, Dhananjay Munde had to resign from the Mahayuti Cabinet-led by CM Devendra Fadnavis. The case also brought cast-based fault lines to the surface as Deshmukh was a Maratha while the accused were mostly from the Vanjari community.
The opposition parties have been using the Beed Sarpach murder as a benchmark of criminal politics to target the law and order situation under the Fadnavis government.
(With PTI Inputs)
