Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will ask NCP minister Dhananjay Munde to step down if any evidence is found linking him to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder, his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil has said. A comprehensive probe is being conducted into the murder of Deshmukh, BJP leader Patil told reporters in Sangli on Sunday. Walmik Karad, an associate of minister Munde, has been arrested in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's killing. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and killed on December 9 for trying to stop an extortion attempt against an energy firm operating a windmill project there. Munde, the NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district, is under attack from some of the ruling alliance colleagues and the opposition over his links with Karad. The Maharashtra government has already seized properties of the accused in sarpanch Deshmukh murder case. Stringent charges have been invoked and the probe is going on, the BJP leader said. The police machinery is actively investigating the case, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been formed for a probe into it, Patil said. Additionally, a committee headed by a retired judge has been constituted to oversee the inquiry, the minister said. Steps are being taken, including invocation of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Walmik Karad and other accused, Patil pointed out. The process of seizing Karad's assets is also underway, he added.
Reacting to media reports of a Karnataka High Court notice to him for allegedly encroaching government land, Azim Premji, chairman of Bangalore-based Wipro, said he had returned the said portion in 2007.
According to the EPFO estimates, there would be a surplus of Rs 151.67 crore after providing 8.65 per cent rate of interest for 2018-19 on EPF.
Expressing doubts over the state government implementing his report on the mining scam in Karnataka, state Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde on Saturday said his only hope was the Supreme Court.
'Mr Minister, it has been more than five years for your government. There is no job creation. Whatever jobs were there, they have been snatched due to the economic slowdown brought by the government. You want to escape by insulting North Indians'
'I will make sure that he resigns and repents for what he said. I am preparing a defamation suit and Ramesh must come down and admit to the nation that he had done wrong and this is no way to speak to the public.'
A last ditch attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to refrain Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde from resigning has failed. State BJP unit chief K S Eshwarappa, Home Minister Dr V S Acharya and Law Minister Suresh Kumar met Justice Hegde and asked him to reconsider his decision, but the Lokayukta averred that he will not change his mind.
Talking to media persons after taking charge of the new portfolio, she side-stepped questions about Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah being behind her shift saying it is not individuals but the party who takes such decisions.
Top Indian shuttlers, PV Sindhu and Parupalli Kashyap advanced to the women's singles quarter-finals and men's singles pre-quarterfinals, respectively, of the $120,000 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold in Kuching.
Kidambi Srikanth and two-time bronze medallist P V Sindhu will headline a 21-member Indian contingent as they gun for the elusive gold medal at the World Badminton Championships starting in Glasgow on Monday.
India's number one singles player Prajnesh Gunneswaran beat Jay Clarke of Great Britain in straight sets to enter the main draw of the Miami Open, on Wednesday.
Top seed Sameer, who won the Swiss Open earlier this year, had to dig deep into his reservoir to outwit compatriot Pratul Joshi 16-21, 26-24, 21-7 in 55 minutes. In another quarter-final, Gurusaidutt, a former Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, recovered from a game down to beat Malaysia's Lim Chi Wing 13-21, 22-20, 21-11 in 59 minutes.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances