Dhananjay Munde, his aide Walmik Karad met me before Maharashtra polls: Manoj Jarange

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday claimed Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde met him before the state polls last year along with his associate Walmik Karad, arrested later in an extortion case linked to the murder of a sarpanch.

Munde has been facing the heat since the arrest Karad in the extortion case related to the brutal murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district in December 2024.

The Minister for Food and Civil Supplies is the NCP MLA from the same district.

The opposition has been demanding Munde's ouster for an impartial probe into the sarpanch's murder.

Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9, 2024, for allegedly trying to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy firm in Beed district.

The police have so far arrested seven persons in connection with the sarpanch's murder, while accused Krushna Andhale is still at large.

Karad was arrested in the extortion case, and is in judicial custody.

Asked if Munde had come to meet him, Jarange on Monday said, "Everyone was meeting me during the elections. He (Munde) came to me and Walmik Karad was also with him at that time."

The activist said their process for contesting the state polls, held in November 2024, was going on at that time.

"I thought of not meeting them, but they were waiting outside. Then I went to meet them. There, Munde told me about him (Karad)," Jarange told reporters at a hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar where he is currently undergoing treatment.

Jarange said he then asked Munde if Karad was the one involved in embezzlement of money of some people keen on getting harvester machines.

"I told (Karad) to pay back the money to those people through an activist from Gevrai, who was also known to Karad. I knew his name and I later met him when he came to meet with Dhananjay Munde," he claimed without specifying the meeting venue.

Asked about sarpanch murder case accused Andhale, who is still at large, Jarange alleged the man was hiding with political support.

"It is the same gang. He (Munde) and the other one (Karad) are seen in a photo together. They are misleading (investigation in the sarpanch case)," he charged.

Jarange further claimed that Andhale might have been kept in a nearby area.

"He has been kept hidden because he might know some secrets and truth may come out," the activist said without elaborating.

The sarpanch's murder has acquired a caste angle as Deshmukh was a Maratha, while most of the accused are Vanjari, a dominant community in the Beed region.

Some leaders from the opposition and ruling parties have demanded the resignation of minister Dhananjay Munde, who belongs to the Vanjari community, alleging links between his aide Karad and the murder case.

On January 30, Jarange, who has been demanding reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category, ended his indefinite fast after five days of protest, claiming the government representatives assured him that several of his demands would be accepted.