Maharashtra Social and Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde, who has been accused of rape by a 38-year-old woman, has rejected the allegation. The minister has said that he was in a relationship with the woman’s sister and that these allegations were being levelled against him in a bid to blackmail and extort money from him.
Amid growing demands for his resignation, the NCP leader took to social media platform Facebook to refute the allegations. Munde said he was in a relationship with the woman since 2003 and has two children with her. The minister said that their relationship was approved by the family. He said the complainant and her sister were trying to blackmail and extort money from him since 2019. Munde said he had filed a complaint with the police regarding the same in November last year. The minister has also moved Bombay High Court and has sought a stay on publication of defamatory content against him.
The woman had visited Oshiwara police station in Andheri along with her lawyer to file rape complaint against Munde earlier this week. In her complaint, she stated that she knew the minister since 1997. She said Munde had raped her by promising he would marry her and get her work in Bollywood as singer. She said she had approached the police earlier as well but they refused to file the complaint as they were facing pressure from the minister.
Meanwhile, BJP has demanded resignation of Munde over the allegations. Party leader Kirit Somaiya said that Munde has no right to stay in the Cabinet till he is given a clean chit in the matter. BJP’s women wing has also written to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and demanded Dhananjay Munde’s resignation from the Cabinet.
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