Sena (UBT) says Walmik Karad case should be tried outside Beed; CM urges Nikam to prosecute case

To save the main boss (Munde), his second-in-command (Karad) may be eliminated in an encounter VIJAY WADETTIWAR Congress leader

- Saurabha Kulshreshtha

MUMBAI: Dhananjay Munde, the Maharashtra minister accused of being the political patron of Beed strongman Walmik Karad, has broken his silence. "I have nothing to do with the Santosh Deshmukh murder case. Why should I resign from the cabinet?" Munde said on Thursday, while implying that the demand for his resignation was politically motivated.

The murder of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district on December 9, 2024, has become a political hot potato.

Deshmukh was killed, his eyes gouged out and left by the highway after he attempted to thwart an extortion attempt involving a local windmill company. Soon after his murder, the clamour for Munde's resignation from the state cabinet has gathered momentum from leaders of political parties across the spectrum. Munde, food and civil supplies minister, is the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA from Parli in Beed, and is accused of protecting Karad, who has allegedly unleashed a reign of terror in the district.