Beed Sarpanch case: Extortion meet took place at Munde`s bungalow, says BJP MLA
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Suresh Dhas on Tuesday said Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde will have to explain about a meeting that took place at his official residence allegedly about extortion in connection to the Beed Sarpanch murder case, news agency PTI reported.
Munde, the state food and civil supplies minister, resigned from the Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the Beed Sarpanch murder case.
According to PTI, while talking to reporters in Mumbai, Dhas alleged that a meeting took place at Munde`s `Satpura` bungalow about extortion, and he has to give an explanation on it.
“Irrespective of whether Munde remains a minister, he has to answer if a meeting took place about the extortion at `Satpura` bungalow,” Dhas said.
PTI reported that Dhas further claimed that Munde`s cousin and state Minister Pankaja, had said in Sawargaon that the NCP leader completely depended on Walmik Karad.
“In that case, how could the murder of the sarpanch have taken place without Munde`s knowledge?” questioned Dhas.
Santosh 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 opposition intensified its demand for Munde`s resignation after gory photos and court charge sheet details related to the killing surfaced, revealing the brutalities committed on the sarpanch before he was murdered.
Meanwhile, speaking about her cousin`s resignation from the Devendra Fadnavis government, Pankaja said the NCP leader should have found a dignified way out of the situation that arose after the sarpanch`s murder and resigned earlier.
The BJP Minister was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Nagpur, PTI reported.
“I welcome the resignation. He [Dhananjay Munde] should have resigned earlier, it would have been better that way. He would have found a dignified way out of all this suffering,” Pankaja said.
“When we take up a post, we should think of every person of the state as equal. The decision to resign is nothing compared to the pain and suffering of the Deshmukh family. He [Dhananjay Munde] has made the right decision. Better late than never,” said Pankaja.
(With PTI inputs)
