Under fire over aide’s role in murder, Maharashtra minister quits

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde, who was under increasing pressure over the murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, resigned from his position as Maharashtra Cabinet Minister on Tuesday. Munde cited personal conscience and health reasons as the basis for his decision, but his resignation comes after weeks of growing opposition demands for his removal.

In a post on X, Munde expressed his deep sorrow upon seeing photographs related to the brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukh. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9, 2023. It was alleged that he was killed for trying to prevent an extortion attempt against an energy company in the district.

Munde’s resignation came after an intense political uproar. The chargesheet filed by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in Deshmukh’s murder case and two related cases has named Munde’s close associate, Walmik Karad, as the first accused.

The CID filed a 1,200-page chargesheet on February 27, 2024, in Deshmukh’s murder case, along with two related cases. The police invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused. Three separate cases—murder of the sarpanch, an extortion bid against the Avaada company, and an assault on the company’s security guard—have been registered at Kej police station in Beed. Seven individuals have been arrested so far, and one accused remains at large.