The resignation of Maharashtra food and civil supplies minister Dhananjay Munde from the Devendra Fadnavis-led cabinet comes nearly three months after the brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukh, a sarpanch from Massajog village in Beed’s Kaij taluka. Deshmukh was abducted and tortured to death on December 9 after allegedly resisting extortion attempts targeting a windmill company in his area. The case has since taken on significant political and caste overtones, leading to a major crisis within the ruling Mahayuti government.
The scandal gained further traction when Walmik Karad, a close aide of Munde and an alleged enforcer in Beed, was booked in connection with the ₹2 crore extortion case filed two days after the murder. Karad remained absconding for days before he dramatically surrendered at the CID office in Pune on December 31, embarrassing law enforcement agencies. Nine people, including Karad, have been arrested, with one accused still at large.
The outrage against Munde intensified after graphic images and videos of Deshmukh’s torture surfaced. The charge-sheet filed by the CID in a Beed court revealed shocking details, including 15 recorded videos, eight photos, and two video calls made during the torture. Deshmukh was subjected to brutal assaults with a gas pipe, an iron rod with clutch wires, wooden sticks, and a knuckle-duster. One particularly disturbing photograph purportedly shows an assailant urinating on Deshmukh’s face. The gruesome nature of these revelations fueled widespread anger, forcing Fadnavis and senior NCP leaders, including Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, and Sunil Tatkare, to push for Munde’s resignation during a late-night meeting on February 3. The following morning, Munde submitted his resignation through an aide, citing health reasons and conscience in a post on social media platform X.
The controversy has been a major embarrassment for the Mahayuti government, especially after its landslide victory in the November assembly elections, where it secured 237 of the 288 seats. BJP MLA and former minister Suresh Dhas, a prominent leader from Beed, has been at the forefront of the allegations against Munde. Dhas has accused Munde of hosting a meeting between Karad and windmill company officials at his official residence in Mumbai, where the extortion deal was allegedly finalized. He has also demanded a supplementary charge sheet, alleging that Deshmukh’s case is not an isolated incident and that more such cases will emerge.
Opposition leaders, including NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MLAs Jitendra Awhad and Sandeep Kshirsagar, along with Beed MP Bajrang Sonwane and social activist Anjali Damania, have called for Munde to be named as an accused in the case. BJP MLA Namita Mundada from Kaij has demanded capital punishment for the perpetrators and criticized Munde for delaying his resignation.
The case has also deepened existing caste tensions in Beed and Marathwada. While Munde and Karad belong to the influential Vanjari community, categorized as OBC, Dhas and Deshmukh were Marathas. The region has long witnessed political competition between the two communities, and this incident has only intensified the rivalry. Prominent Maratha leader Manoj Jarange-Patil has been vocal in his protests against Munde, while some within the BJP are seen as positioning Dhas to emerge as a key Maratha face in Marathwada. His rise could challenge the dominance of the Munde family in Beed, including Dhananjay Munde and his cousin Pankaja Munde, the state’s environment minister and daughter of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde.
The controversy has also sparked debates over the broader political implications. While Jarange-Patil had opposed the BJP during the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, OBC leader Laxman Hake has cautioned against making Munde a “political scapegoat” for a crime that must be investigated independently. The NCP, traditionally seen as a Maratha-dominated party, now faces a dilemma, as Munde is one of its prominent OBC leaders.
As the case continues to unfold, political equations in Beed and Maharashtra at large are set to shift, with the ruling coalition under pressure to ensure justice while navigating the complexities of caste and regional politics.
