Fadnavis asks Munde to resign as minister after aide named in sarpanch murder case

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked state minister Dhananjay Munde to resign, against the backdrop of his close aide Walmik Karad being named as an accused in sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case, sources said on Tuesday.

The sources said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar met Fadnavis on Monday night to discuss the fallout of the CID's chargesheet filed in the Deshmukh murder case and two related cases in which Karad has been named accused number one.

“Fadnavis has asked Dhananjay Munde to resign as minister today,” a source said.

Munde, the state food and civil supplies minister, is the NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district. He was earlier the guardian minister of Beed.

Currently, NCP head Ajit Pawar is the guardian minister of Beed district along with Pune.

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 last year allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company in the district.

The state Crime Investigation Department (CID) on February 27 filed a more than 1,200-page chargesheet at a court in Beed district in Deshmukh's murder and two related cases.

Three separate cases - murder of sarpanch, bid to extort money from Avaada company and assault on security guard of the firm - have been registered at Kej police station in Beed. The police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused in the cases.

Seven persons have been arrested so far and booked under the MCOCA. One of the accused is still at large.