Tried meeting slain Beed sarpanch's family, but was denied visit: Pankaja Munde

Pankaja Munde. File Pic

Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde has said she tried to meet the family of murdered sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh but was asked not to visit due to the situation in their village in Beed district, reported news agency PTI.

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured, and murdered on December 9, allegedly in retaliation for his efforts to prevent extortion attempts against an energy firm linked to a windmill project.

Walmik Karad, an associate of Maharashtra NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, Pankaja Munde's cousin, has been arrested in a related extortion case.

Talking to reporters on Monday, Pankaja Munde said, "I tried to meet the family of Santosh Deshmukh, but they refused due to the situation in their village. My visit to Massajog and expressing my feelings on the incident is my personal issue," reported PTI.

The state environment minister said the slain Beed sarpanch's family told her that the situation in the village was not in their hands and urged her not to visit, reported PTI.

"I will visit with their due permission. Justice to the family is more important than my visit," she said, reported PTI.

The Beed sarpanch's family and opposition parties have been demanding Dhananjay Munde's ouster from the state cabinet over his aide Karad's alleged link in a related extortion case.

Maratha outfit stages protest over Beed sarpanch's murder; black flags shown to Ajit Pawar

Activists of a Maratha outfit staged a protest against the murder of a sarpanch in Beed, showing black flags to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Jalna on Monday.

Activists of the Maratha Mahasangh showed black flags to Pawar, who attended an event of the Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) district unit.

Arvind Deshmukh, the district president of Maratha Mahasangh, led the demonstration, with activists raising slogans condemning the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, and the death of Dalit man, Somnath Suryavanshi, arrested in connection with the violence in judicial custody.

"Pawar, who is the guardian minister of Beed, should ensure justice to the families of the murdered sarpanch and the Dalit man in Parbhani," Arvind Deshmukh said.

(With inputs from PTI)