Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was threatened by some unidentified persons days before his murder following a quarrel at a windmill company, his wife claimed on Monday.
Walmik Karad, a close aide of Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, has been charged with ordering the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, who allegedly opposed Karad's extortion bid targeting a wind energy company. According to a chargesheet filed by the state Crime Investigation Department (CID), Karad allegedly asked his associates to "eliminate" anyone who interfered with their extortion attempt. Deshmukh was abducted, tortured, and murdered in December 2024 after he attempted to stop the extortion bid. Karad and several others have been charged with murder, extortion, and organized crime.
Under flak, Munde said the video clip, in which he was purportedly heard making the comments against Pankaja, was edited and fake. He claimed that his remarks were "distorted" to project him as a "villain" by his rivals to win elections.
'One murder gets national coverage because of political connections.' 'The other two and the brutal torture? Not much outrage.' 'Are Dalit and OBC lives worth less?'
The government resolution does not spell out what action would be taken, if any, against those writing and publishing 'negative' news. Nor does it define 'negative news and "misinformation', explains Jyoti Punwani.
A man declared dead by doctors woke up just as he was placed on the pyre much to the shock of those around but breathed his last a few hours later, the dramatic life and death story unfolding in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu area over Thursday and Friday.
Dhananjay Deshmukh, brother of slain Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, climbed a village water tank on Monday and threatened to jump alleging that information about the investigation was not shared with the family. He demanded that the accused in the extortion case linked to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder be booked under murder charges. Family members of the slain sarpanch and Opposition leaders are demanding that state minister Dhananjay Munde's aide Walmik Karad, arrested in a related extortion case, be booked for murder. Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village, was abducted, tortured, and murdered on December 9. Preliminary investigation suggests that the sarpanch had tried to thwart an extortion bid on an energy firm operating a windmill project in the region. After climbing down the water tank, Dhananjay told reporters that he trusted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' assurance on the probe. He further said his agitation was not a drama but a serious yearning for justice for his brother.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has stated that his party wants to go solo in the upcoming local body elections to strengthen its base. This statement has raised questions about the unity of the opposition INDIA bloc and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (SP). Raut clarified that the party has not called for the dissolution of either bloc and that the local body elections are an opportunity to empower party workers at the grassroots level. He also criticized Congress leaders for reacting to his comments without hearing the full context.
Band, baaja... and a lot of star power, the makers of upcoming Ghudchadi unveiled the peppy dance track Punjabi Munde at a musical event with Raveena Tandon, Khushalii Kumar and Parth Samthaan.
The OBC face of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra and former deputy chief minister, Gopinath Munde, who had joined the Union Cabinet for the first time a week back, was all set to spearhead the party's campaign in the upcoming assembly polls in the state to wrest power from the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party combine.
Munde, a Nationalist Congress Party leader, had attended a state cabinet meeting earlier this week and taken part in the Nationalist Congress Party's foundation day event two days ago in Mumbai.
Activists Laxman Hake and Navnath Waghmare, who have been sitting on a hunger strike at Wadigodri village in Jalna district since June 13, did not allow doctors to check their health or administer intravenous fluids.
'Looking at the changed political scenario in state, there is a need to think and decide the way ahead,' she wrote.
The NCP leader defeated his cousin Pankaja Munde of the BJP in the just-concluded assembly elections from Parli in Beed district of central Maharashtra.
Gopinath Munde came up the hard way and never forgot his roots. Just when he seemed destined for bigger things, death snatched him away.
Gopinath Munde's laidback attitude and ambition for the Maharashtra chief minister's post has got him stuck on the periphery. His equations within the party and hierarchy -- mainly access to Modi -- needs to improve, feels N Suresh.
Senior Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde on Tuesday said he would withdraw his resignation from the party general secretary post. Munde had earlier said he would stay in the party and that had never thought of joining any other platform.
"I am not leaving the party. Defection is not in my blood," Pankaja told reporters.
Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde had last spoken to ANI a day before his demise.
The Central Bureau of Investigation will probe the death of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union minister Gopinath Munde in a car crash last week, Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Eknath Khadse said following an assurance from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
The body of Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde, who died in a road accident in Delhi, reached Mumbai on Tuesday evening.
Minutes after Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde passed away in AIIMS Hospital in Delhi after a road accident, ministers from across the political spectrum paid tribute to the minister.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the probe into the death of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde following a road accident in Delhi.
Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde died in a road accident while on his way to the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Fissures in Maha BJP were out in the open at a rally organised in memory of the late Gopinath Munde, with Eknath Khadse and Pankaja targeting former CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Ajit Pawar's NCP, a constituent of Mahayuti, was winning or leading in 41 of the 59 seats it contested as per the latest figures released by the Election Commission.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde's nephew was allegedly stabbed by two persons in Parli Vaijanath, Marathwada, on Tuesday and has been hospitalised in a critical condition, police said.
'The Congress cannot speak the BJP's words while targeting Kejriwal.' 'What is the difference between the two? Where is the unity of INDIA then?'
If Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil drops a hint of supporting or opposing a particular coalition on the eve of polling on November 20, things may change overnight.
Munde, who had to eat humble pie in New Delhi a day earlier when he said that he will not quit the party, landed in Mumbai on Thursday and immediately launched a attack against BJP President Nitin Gadkari.
Daughters of the late Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde are in the poll arena contesting from the Parli assembly and Beed Lok Sabha constituencies in a bid to retain their father's political legacy.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Thursday hailed Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde for raising the banner of revolt and making his party restore democracy in its functioning. After the episode, Munde has emerged as a very strong leader in the state and there were none to match him, Thackeray said in an editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna. There were attempts to finish off Munde politically but he rebelled and succeeded to make the party heed to his demand.
The BJP has also not declared the candidate for Mumbai North Central, which was won by Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late Pramod Mahajan, in 2014 and 2019 on the party ticket.
'Did the media see the problems I had to endure while walking barefeet?'
Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde has objected to the biopic 'Sangharshyatra', based on the life of her father late Munde, claiming that the film's producer did not take permission from their family before making it.
The ashes of Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former union minister Gopinath Munde were on Sunday immersed in the Godavari river.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar had dissuaded Gopinath Munde from joining the Congress when the sulking Bharatiya Janata Party leader was planning a switch as he felt neglected, according to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut.
Sulking Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde appears moving closer to the Congress.
Munde, who returned to Mumbai after meeting top BJP leaders including Lal Kishenchand Advani and Rajnath Singh in Delhi, had a meeting with Thackeray at his residence during which the Shiv Sena leader wished him all success, Sena sources said on Friday. This is Munde's second visit to Thackeray's residence within a span of three days. Just before going to Delhi to meet the party bosses on Tuesday after raising a banner of revolt, Munde had met Thackeray.
Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde died in a road accident while on his way to the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Tuesday.
