Munde supporters turn violent in Beed, demand CBI probe

Maharashtra CM and other leaders had a miraculous escape

Union rural development minister Gopinath Munde's supporters turned violent, torching vehicles and pelting stones at VIP vehicles soon after he was cremated on Wednesday afternoon in Beed. The supporters, who gathered in large numbers for his funeral, demanded a CBI inquiry into the death of their leader, alleging conspiracy. The last rites were performed in the Vaidyanath Sugar Factory compound, a few kilometres away from 'Totla Maidan', where Munde was to be felicitated on Tuesday by villagers.

They also gheraoed Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's car when he was heading to a helipad in Beed. Chavan was accompanied by the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly speaker Dilip Walse-Patil, state forest minister Patangrao Kadam and Congress MP Rajani Patil. These leaders had a miraculous escape as the car was bullet proof.

A sea of humanity had converged at Munde's home town to pay last respects to the towering leader from the backward Marathwada region as his eldest daughter Pankaja lit the funeral pyre amid roars of "Gopinath Munde amar rahe" and "Munde Saheb parat ya (Munde Sir, come again)".

Munde, 64, was yesterday killed in a road accident in Delhi while he was on way to Parli for a felicitation following his own and BJP's resounding victory in the Lok Sabha elections, which saw him re-elected for a second time from Beed.