Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday said Dhananjay Munde's resignation as Maharashtra minister was not enough and demanded that murder charges be invoked against him over the killing of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
Munde, the state food and civil supplies minister and MLA from Parli, resigned from the state cabinet days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the Beed sarpanch murder case.
The resignation followed a vociferous demand by the opposition for Munde’s removal from the cabinet.
Jarange on Tuesday reached Massajog village in Beed to meet the family of the slain sarpanch after photos of the killing went viral.
Talking to reporters in the village, the activist said, "Merely accepting Munde's resignation as minister is not enough. He should also resign as MLA. He should also be booked for murder." He alleged that the accused were Munde's people and the money they collected went to him.
The Opposition demand for Munde’s resignation intensified after gory photos and court chargesheet details related to the killing of Deshmukh surfaced, revealing the brutalities committed before the murder.
Deshmukh 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 state Crime Investigation Department (CID) on February 27 filed a more than 1,200-page chargesheet at a court in Beed district in Deshmukh's murder and two related cases.
Jarange said, "The only job now is to destroy the extortion racket in Beed. However, some people only love money and prestige, and they can go to any extent for that. Santosh Deshmukh's brother Dhananjay Deshmukh has to fight till the accused are hanged for the crime." The slain sarpanch's brother Dhananjay said the ordeal he faced in the last couple of months cannot be expressed, and it has left him broken.
He further alleged that a few politicians had asked the previous superintendent of police of Beed to suppress the case.
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