Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis put his foot down and demanded the Dhananjay Munde resign after shocking photos and videos showing Deshmukh being tortured emerged

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis put his foot down and demanded the Dhananjay Munde resign after shocking photos and videos showing Deshmukh being tortured emerged

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis put his foot down and demanded the Dhananjay Munde resign after shocking photos and videos showing Deshmukh being tortured emerged

A day after videos and photos showing Maharashtra sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh being tortured and killed went viral on social media, reports have emerged stating that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has asked state minister Dhananjay Munde to resign from the Cabinet. 

NCP leader Munde, who holds the Food and Public Distribution portfolio, was under scanner after police named his close aide Walmik Karad as the main accused in the murder. The minister had claimed that he was being deliberately targeted. 

As per reports, a meeting was held between Fadnavis, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, NCP leader Sunil Tatkare and Dhananjay Munde on Monday night at Devagiri Bungalow. After this meeting, Fadnavis asked Munde to resign, which is likely to happen on Tuesday.  

Though Fadnavis was insistent about Munde's resignation right from the beginning, the latter was hesitant to after claiming his innocence in the incident. However, on Monday, he demanded that Munde quit and Ajit Pawar too persuaded him to quit.  

The murder has also cast a shadow on Munde's political future after the allegations put the NCP and the Mahayuti government under fire. 

The murder that happened in December in the Beed district sparked widespread protest. Deshmukh was abducted and killed after he allegedly foiled an extortion bid on an energy company. His body, riddled with injuries and bearing signs of extreme brutality, was found dumped on the roadside.

On Monday,  videos and photos, part of the chargesheet submitted by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) before a court, went viral on social media which sparked an uproar, considering the brutality of the attack.

The chargesheet alleged that Deshmukh was beaten up by the six accused for over three hours by using a gas pipe of 41-inch length with a handle with black string. They also used an iron rod with five clutch wires, wooden sticks, a "fighter and dharkatti" (both sharp weapons).

While one person was seen thrashing Deshmukh, another was seen kicking and punching him. Deshmukh was seen in a half-naked condition and forced to sit on the ground.

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