In the Sarpanch murder case in Beed, Maharashtra, NCP Ajit Pawar faction MLA and minister Dhananjay Munde has submitted his resignation. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had asked Munde to resign. He had also talked to NCP chief Ajit Pawar and party leader Praful Patel for this.
Munde was the Minister of Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Protection in the Maharashtra government. It is alleged that Munde’s close aide Valmik Karad is involved in the murder of Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed. SIT has described Karad as the mastermind of the murder.
Pictures related to the murder have now surfaced. In this, the accused are seen beating the Sarpanch with sticks. After this, they removed the Sarpanch’s clothes, urinated on him. All these videos were recorded by the accused on their phones.
Dhananjay Munde said- I resigned due to ill health. I have been demanding from day one that the accused in the murder of Santosh Deshmukh in the Beed district should get the harshest punishment. I was very sad to see the pictures that came out yesterday. The investigation of this case has been completed, and the charge sheet has been filed in the court. As far as the resignation is concerned, my health is not good, due to which I resigned from the post of minister.
Reactions of CM and other leaders…
Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde has resigned today. I have accepted the resignation and sent it to the Governor for further action.
Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra CM
The pictures that came out during the murder of the sarpanch in the last 3-4 days. What would be the condition of the family members after seeing them? These pictures are heart-breaking.
Jitendra Ahwad, former minister
Munde’s resignation alone will not work. The law and order situation in Maharashtra is very bad. This government should be dismissed.
Aditya Thackeray, UBT leader
A chargesheet was filed against 6 accused, including Valmik Karad, and his 6 henchmen were arrested by Maharashtra Police in December last year under MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999). The Special Investigation Team of Maharashtra Police, which is investigating the Santosh Deshmukh murder case, filed a chargesheet in the case on March 1.
A part of the charge sheet went viral in the media on March 3, showing pictures of Valmik Karad’s associates killing Santosh Deshmukh. After the pictures came in the media, Fadnavis held a meeting with Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, and NCP Maharashtra chief Sunil Tatkare.
Sudarshan Ghule was named as accused number two in the charge sheet. Sudarshan Ghule has been named as accused number two after Karad in the SIT chargesheet. He has been active in Beed and neighboring areas for more than 10 years. There are already 11 criminal cases going on against him. In the charge sheet, he has been described as a ‘gang leader’. According to the report, Ghule had told Karad that if Santosh Deshmukh, the Sarpanch of Massajog village of Beed, was not removed from the way, his extortion business would be ruined.
Claim – Sarpanch murdered for stopping extortion of Rs 2 crore According to sources, in the SIT chargesheet, Valmik Karad was the mastermind of the murder of Beed Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Karad had demanded a ransom of Rs 2 crore from the land acquisition officer of a renewable energy company in Beed. Santosh had opposed this. After this, he was murdered. The SIT has presented the recording of phone calls recovered from the accused and CCTV footage certified by the forensic lab as evidence.
Threat on December 6, murder of Deshmukh on December 9. In the murder case, the SIT has made Valmik Karad, Sudarshan Ghule, Pratik Ghule, Vishnu Chate, Sudhir Sangle and Krishna Andhale (absconding) accused. Sudarshan Ghule called Valmiki Karad on December 7, the recording of which is with the police. Three days later, on December 9, 2024, Santosh Deshmukh was brutally attacked and killed.
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