Dhananjay Munde, Pankaja should quit ministerial posts till probe on into sarpanch murder: Damania

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Social activist Anjali Damania has demanded that Maharashtra ministers Pankaja Munde and Dhananjay Munde resign till a probe is under way into the brutal murder of a village sarpanch in Beed district.

Talking to a news channel on Monday, Damania claimed that Munde cousins very well know Walmik Karad, an accused in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's murder.

BJP leader Pankaja Munde is the state environment and climate change minister, while her cousin Dhananjay Munde, a leader of the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), holds charge of the food, civil supplies and consumer protection department.

According to police, Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was abducted and killed on December 9 allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some individuals who had demanded money from a windmill company in Beed district.

Four persons have been arrested so far in connection with the murder.

Opposition parties and a BJP MLA have accused Dhananjay Munde of having close links with his "aide" Walmik Karad, absconding after he was named in the FIR in the extortion case.

Damania has been agitating near the Beed district collector's office for a couple of days, demanding action against the accused in the murder case.

"These cousins (Pankaja and Dhananjay Munde) know Walmik Karad very well for years. So, they should resign till the investigation of Santosh Deshmukh murder case is underway," she said.

"They should be given back the ministerial charge if nothing is found in this case. But at this moment, they should resign," the activist added.

On December 24, Damania claimed there was “solid evidence” of a financial relationship between Dhannjay Munde and Walmik Karad, who she alleged runs a mafia empire in the district.

Dhananjay Munde last week said he has been demanding from day one that killers of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh be “hanged to death”.

“Even if the killers may be close to anyone including me, I have said the accused must be punished. Still, if I am being targeted, one can make out what kind of politics is this,” he had said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio, has announced a judicial probe into the murder of the sarpanch.