Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigns after aide held in murder case

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed the news, saying he had received the resignation of Dhananjay Munde

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National Congress Party (NCP) MLA in Maharashtra Dhananjay Munde on Tuesday resigned as state minister after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as an accused in the murder case of a sarpanch in Beed district.

 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed the news, saying he had received the resignation of Munde. "Dhananjay Munde has tendered his resignation today. I have accepted the resignation and sent it to the Governor for further course of action," news agency ANI quoted Fadnavis as saying.

 

According to a PTI report, NCP chief and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar met Fadnavis on Monday night to talk about the impact of the CID’s chargesheet in the murder case of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. They also discussed two other cases where Karad is the main accused.

 

Munde is the NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district and served as the state minister for food and civil supplies. He was previously the guardian minister of Beed. Right now, NCP leader Ajit Pawar is the guardian minister of Beed and Pune districts.

 

The Opposition wanted Munde to step down after Karad was arrested in an extortion case linked to the murder. The Opposition had threatened to disrupt the House proceedings if Munde did not step down by today.

Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was kidnapped, tortured, and killed on December 9 last year. He was allegedly targeted for trying to stop an extortion attempt against an energy company in the district.

 

On February 27, the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) filed a chargesheet of over 1,200 pages in a court in Beed district. It covers Deshmukh’s murder and two related cases.

 

Three cases have been registered at Kej police station in Beed: Deshmukh’s murder, an extortion attempt on Avaada company, and an attack on the company’s security guard. Police have charged the accused under the strict Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

 

So far, seven people have been arrested and booked under MCOCA, while one accused is still on the run.

 

[With inputs from agencies]