Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh’s relatives speak to media after meeting the chief minister | FPJ/Vijay Gohil
The family of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Masajog who was brutally murdered, met with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday to demand justice. They were accompanied by BJP MLA Suresh Dhas during the meeting.
After the meeting, Dhananjay Deshmukh, the younger brother of Santosh Deshmukh, stated, “We presented certain evidence and details to the chief minister and discussed the matter. Our stance is for justice. We only seek justice. The investigation should be impartial, and whoever is involved must be punished. We have also requested a detailed examination of the call data records (CDR) of everyone mentioned in the FIR.”
Fadnavis assured the Deshmukh family that the murderers will not be spared. “They will be given the harshest punishment so that a strong message is sent to criminals,” said the CM. He emphasised that there will be no forgiveness for anyone involved in the murder, and whoever is behind it will face justice.
Meanwhile, minister Dhananjay Munde, who is under fire over the murder, on Tuesday said he has not submitted his resignation from the state cabinet.
BJP leader and minister Pankaja Munde parried a question about her cousin Munde’s continuance in the state cabinet, saying it was for the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Ajit Pawar to decide.
Pankaja said that she has not made any statements or visited Santosh Deshmukh’s family. “Santosh Deshmukh was my worker. For me, ensuring his family gets justice is more important than giving speeches with them.”
A local organisation on Tuesday staged ‘chakka jam’ or road blockades in Maharashtra’s Latur district to protest the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
An organisation of village sarpanches in the state too staged a protest in Mumbai and demanded aid for Deshmukh’s family besides seeking the resignation of state minister Dhananjay Munde.
Meanwhile, police have started the process to cancel the gun license of a Beed-based supporter of Maharashtra NCP minister Dhananjay Munde after a video surfaced wherein the former was seen firing in the air. Kailas Phad, a resident of Parli in Beed, was arrested last month and booked under the Arms Act after his old video of brandishing a gun and opening fire in the air had gone viral on various social media platforms, an official said on Tuesday.
The police in Beed have also sent proposals to cancel the gun licences of 236 persons to the district authorities.
