Beed sarpanch murder: Ajit Pawar to decide on allotting ministry earlier held by Dhananjay Munde, says NCP minister

Munde, who belong to the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), resigned from the state cabinet on March 4, days after his close associate Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder

Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar will decide on whom to allot the food and civil supplied portfolio following Dhanajay Munde's resignation earlier this month, a state minister said on Thursday, PTI reported.

Munde, who belong to the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), resigned from the state cabinet on March 4, days after his close associate Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Maharashtra's Beed district.

As per PTI, when asked about who would be allotted Munde's ministry, agriculture minister and NCP legislator Manikrao Kokate said, "I have no idea about who will get the charge of his ministry. The decision regarding it will be taken by Ajit Pawar."

Deshmukh was kidnapped, tortured and killed on December 9 last year allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company in Beed district.

The pressure on Munde (49) to resign mounted after photos and videos of the brutalities committed against Deshmukh before his murder surfaced online. The photos and videos, attached to a Crime Investigation Department (CID) chargesheet filed in the case, went viral and sparked a state-wide outrage, PTI reported.

Munde, who is the representative for the Parli assembly segment in Beed, announced his resignation in a statement after listening to his conscience and citing medical concerns as well.  He said he was deeply saddened after seeing the photographs related to Deshmukh's gruesome murder.

Munde's abrupt departure put an end to the opposition's nearly three-month-long demand for his resignation from the cabinet, which was also made by few BJP and NCP MLAs from his own party.

Minister Manikrao Kokate was sentenced to two years in prison last month by a magistrate court in the Nashik district for a 1995 case in which he was accused of submitting fake documents in order to obtain flats under a government quota.  His conviction was later stayed by a sessions court.

Beed sarpanch murder: Defence demands statements of witnesses, accused by next hearing on March 26

The defence in the Beed Sarpanch murder case on Wednesday claimed in a local court that they had not received the statement of the accused and witnesses, PTI reported.

The accused were produced virtually in the case's first hearing in a court in Beed's Kej. Police have since arrested seven individuals, including former state minister Dhananjay Munde's close associate Walmik Karad, in connection with the murder. One accused is still on the run.

Speaking to the media, Assistant Government Prosecutor (AGP) Balasaheb Kolhe said that the court has sought their response to the demand of the defence by March 26, the next hearing date. Renowned lawyer Ujjwal Nikam is the public prosecutor in the case.

(With agency inputs)

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