Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: BJP MLA Suresh Dhas on Tuesday said Dhananjay Munde will have to explain about a meeting that took place at his official residence allegedly about extortion in connection to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.

Munde, the state food and civil supplies minister, resigned from the state cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case.

Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Dhas alleged that a meeting took place at Munde's 'Satpura' bungalow about extortion, and he has to give an explanation about this.

"Irrespective of whether Munde remains a minister, he has to answer if a meeting took place about the extortion at 'Satpura' bungalow," the BJP leader said.

He further claimed that state Minister Pankaja Munde, Dhananjay Munde's cousin, had said in Sawargaon that the NCP leader completely depended on Walmik Karad.

"In that case, how could the murder of the sarpanch have taken place without Munde's knowledge?" Dhas questioned.

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 last year, allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company in the district.

The opposition intensified its demand for Munde's resignation after gory photos and court chargesheet details related to the killing surfaced, revealing the brutalities committed before the murder.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)