14 suspects undergo polygraph test, 5 selected for narco analysis

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A total of 14 suspects underwent polygraph tests at a forensic laboratory in Mumbai over the last few days and five of them will now undergo narco test in connection with the Oct 20, 2023, murder of businessman Mahadev Munde at Parli in Beed district.Additional SP Pankaj Kumawat, who is heading the SIT that is investigating the case, told TOI on Wednesday, "Based on suspicion and the findings of our probe so far, we shortlisted and summoned 14 people for the scientific tests. Following the due process (i.e. securing prior consent of the person undergoing such tests), all the 14 underwent a polygraph test. Six of them were shortlisted for the subsequent brain mapping and finally, five will now undergo narco analysis test." Another SIT officer, who did not wish to be named, told TOI, "The test reports are expected to be released to us by the forensic authorities in a couple of weeks."The Munde murder case has remained unsolved for more than two years now as the investigators haven't been able to establish the murder motive nor the culprits behind the crime. It gained fresh momentum amid a state-wide public outcry over the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, also in Beed district, on Dec 9, 2024. The brutality involved in Munde's murder was of a scale similar to that of Deshmukh's.In July 2025, Munde's widow, Dnyaneshwari, submitted a representation to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, alleging involvement of former Parli municipal council president Valmik Karad and his sons in the murder of her husbad. The allegation was further bolstered by Bala Bangar, a former loyalist of Valmik Karad, who accused Karad of behind the "mastermind" behind the murder.The CID arrested Karad on Dec 31, 2024, in the Deshmukh murder case and he remains in jail.Under these circumstances, the state govt on July 31, 2025, constituted an SIT under IPS officer Pankaj Kumawat to revisit and investigate the case.The polygraph, brain mapping and narco analysis tests are being conducted in coordination with the Forensic Science Laboratory at a higher medical facility in Mumbai. According to medical findings, Munde had sustained as many as 16 injuries suspected to be inflicted with sharp-edged weapon(s). His throat was slit from the front, severing the trachea and major blood vessels, likely causing immediate death. There were a total of four stab injuries on the right side of Munde's neck.