Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is already facing pressure from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to sack his food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, accused of shielding the killer of a village official in Beed district, is now in a spot after even BJP MLAs attacked Munde openly.

This led to Fadnavis’s confidant and Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule stepping in and expressing his displeasure over remarks made by BJP MLA Suresh Dhas in public, targeting NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, in connection with the murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Dhas has been criticising Munde indirectly alleging that Valmik Karad, the main accused in the murder case has been evading arrest due to his links with food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde, who assumed charge of his post very recently.

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“I will ask Suresh Dhas to share any information he possesses directly with the Chief Minister rather than going public. I will tell him not to make any comments which will hamper the (murder) probe,” Bawankule told reporters in Shirdi.

However, Bawankule’s efforts failed when BJP MLA Abhimanyu Pawar, who was previously an aide to CM Fadnavis before becoming a BJP MLA from Ausa, publicly stated on Saturday that the pain caused by the murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh has been felt throughout Maharashtra, as evidenced by a protest march organised in Beed district against the murder.

The silent march, held in Beed to protest the murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, was attended by politicians across party lines. BJP MLA Suresh Dhas, Sharad Pawar-led NCP MP Bajrang Sonawane, Sharad Pawar-led NCP MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar, Ajit Pawar-led NCP MLA Prakash Solanke, Sharad Pawar NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad, and BJP MLA Abhimanyu Pawar participated in the march. All the political leaders present demanded the arrest of the main accused at the earliest.

Despite Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s statement in Shirdi earlier, BJP MLA Suresh Dhas alleged at the protest march on Saturday that Valmik Karad, who is considered close to food and civil supplies minister Dhanajay Munde, has been “terrorising the district and is working to extort ransom to deliver it to his boss”.

BJP MLA Abhimanyu Pawar also attacked food and civil supplies minister Munde, saying, “Similar protest marches will be held across Maharashtra against the murder of Santosh Deshmukh. The culprits should be given the death penalty. Be it Valmik Karad or anyone else, no matter how big the accused is, he should be punished. The government should take note of this march,” BJP MLA Abhimanyu Pawar said.

Sharad Pawar-led NCP MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar said that the main accused, Valmik Karad, considered close to food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde, must be arrested. “Dhananjay Munde must resign until the investigation is over,” Kshirsagar said at the protest.

Significantly, Prakash Solanke, who is from food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde’s own Ajit Pawar-led NCP, also demanded that Munde must be removed from his ministerial post until the Santosh Deshmukh case is solved and the culprits are arrested.