Maharashtra: Minister Dhananjay Munde resigns after his aide named in Beed Sarpanch murder case

Mumbai: Amid the ongoing controversy over the Beed sarpanch murder case in Maharashtra, state food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde resigned on Tuesday from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's ministry.

"Munde has submitted his resignation to me. I have accepted his resignation and sent it to the governor for further action," said Fadnavis.

The Nationalist Congress Party-Ajit Pawar (NCP-AP) Minister Munde finally submitted his resignation after Valmik Karad, his close aide, was made an accused in the Beed Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case.

Since Karad's name surfaced in the murder case, leaders of the opposition alliance had been persistently demanding Munde's resignation.

The opposition had warned that if Munde did not resign on Tuesday they would disrupt the proceedings of the assembly, which started its budget session on Monday.

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village, was kidnapped and murdered in December 2024. Seven accused have since been arrested in the case. One accused is still absconding.

On February 27, the state Criminal Investigation Department submitted a chargesheet of about 1,200 pages in the Beed District Court, which includes Deshmukh's murder and two related cases.

Three separate cases have been registered at the Cage police station in Beed - the murder of Sarpanch, an attempt to extort money from the Awada company, and an attack on the company's security guard. Cases have been registered against the accused under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).