Beed sarpanch murder: Pankaja Munde seeks action against BJP MLA Suresh Dhas | Mumbai news

Mumbai/Pune: The bickering within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Beed district, which has been in the news for all the wrong reasons over the last three months, has come to the fore. The party’s OBC face and state environment minister Pankaja Munde has finally spoken out against MLA Suresh Dhas, who had criticised her in connection with the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case.

Munde, whose cousin Dhananjay Munde was forced to resign from the Maharashtra cabinet earlier this month over his links with the alleged mastermind behind the murder, has requested the BJP leadership to warn Dhas not to bring up her name in connection with the case. On Wednesday, she said that despite being the BJP’s national secretary, her party colleague was linking her with the murder case and damaging her reputation.

The brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, on December 9 last year has sent shockwaves through Maharashtra’s politics and placed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde in the spotlight for his connections with one of the prime accused, Walmik Karad.

Dhas, who had led the attack on Dhananjay Munde, also targeted Pankaja Munde for a number of reasons: he questioned why she had remained silent on the murder case until her cousin was removed from the cabinet; he asked why she did not visit the sarpanch’s family after he was killed; he alleged that Karad had worked for Pankaja as well; and he claimed that Pankaja did not campaign for him during last year’s assembly elections but chose to support an independent candidate.

Pankaja Munde finally responded to Dhas on Wednesday, saying she hadn’t done so earlier to avoid any embarrassment for the party. “Dhas has been targeting me without reason, even after I took a clear stand in the murder case. I had given a letter to the chief minister on December 11 (two days after Deshmukh’s murder) requesting him to form an SIT (special investigation team) to probe the case. I was on my way to meet Deshmukh’s family members on December 12 but the deceased’s brother told me that the sentiments of the villagers [against Dhananjay Munde] were extreme. Hearing this, I had to turn back halfway,” she said. She also denied that she had campaigned against Dhas in the assembly polls.

Dhas, however, stood by his comments. “I stand by my statement against Pankaja Munde and question why she did not speak when Dhananjay was in the cabinet,” he said on Wednesday.

Dhas’s aide arrested

Meanwhile, in a rather ironic turn of events, Satish Bhosale, a close aide of Dhas, was arrested from Prayagraj on Wednesday in a joint operation by the Beed police and the Uttar Pradesh police. Bhosale had been absconding after multiple cases, including assault and poaching, were registered against him in Beed earlier this month.

It all began on March 5, when activist Anjali Damania posted an old video on social media showing Bhosale and his associates brutally assaulting a man with a cricket bat. After the police registered a case against Bhosale and his four associates, a Beed resident filed another police complaint, alleging that Bhosale had attacked him with an axe.

Bhosale, who has been on the run since the assault video surfaced, gave an interview to a Marathi news channel two days ago. This sparked outrage, with many questioning why the Beed police had not arrested him yet.

Beed Superintendent of Police (SP) Navneet Kanwat said, “Since the registration of the crime, Bhosale was absconding. Our teams tracked his movements and finally located him in Prayagraj. With coordination from Uttar Pradesh police, we arrested him.” Kanwat added that three FIRs had been registered against Bhosale. “We have secured a transit remand, and he will be brought to Beed by Thursday or Friday.”

Bhosale’s arrest has intensified scrutiny on Dhas, given their close ties. In a viral audio clip, Dhas was heard sending belated birthday wishes to Bhosale and assuring him that he would stand behind him, further fueling controversy.

Speaking to reporters at Vidhan Bhavan on Wednesday, Dhas said, “Satish Bhosale’s arrest is a welcome step. He made a mistake, and the law will take its course. The claims that I tried to shield him are false. I have never called any police officer regarding this matter. If he has broken the law, action should be taken against him.”