Beed rallies for harmony, Dhas turns up the heat on Munde

On March 8, the villagers of Massajog embarked on a Sadbhavana Yatra, even as BJP MLA Suresh Dhas said he would approach the ED for action against an alleged ₹200-crore fraud in the state agriculture department led by Dhananjay Munde in the previous Mahayuti government.

MUMBAI: For the residents of Massajog village, life changed forever on December 9, 2024, the day their village head was brutally tortured and murdered, his body discarded by a highway. Now they are rallying together to rebuild social harmony in this village in Beed district, which is consistently making headlines for the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh and the political storm it has triggered.

On March 8, the villagers of Massajog embarked on a Sadbhavana Yatra, organised by the Congress. (HT Photo)

On Saturday, the villagers, including the family of the slain sarpanch, embarked on a Sadbhavana Yatra, a march for social harmony, even as Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Dhas said he would approach the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for action against an alleged ₹200-crore fraud in the state agriculture department led by Dhananjay Munde in the previous Mahayuti government.

The Sadbhavana Yatra, organised by the opposition Congress, is a 50-km march that will culminate in Beed on Sunday, when the district collector will be presented a memorandum urging that steps be taken to restore social harmony in the district.

Deshmukh’s brother Dhananjay Deshmukh said, “We are seeking justice for our slain sarpanch and want the accused to be hanged at the earliest. We expect the government to fulfil its assurance on this. The Sadbhavana Yatra is a battle against perversion, beyond caste and religion.”

Maharashtra Congress chief Harshavardhan Sapkal, who led the march, said, “It is high time society introspected over the disturbed social fabric in the backdrop of the brutal killing of Deshmukh. The yatra intends to restore harmony by rooting out cruelty and averting a repetition of the brutal murder of a leader. The sarpanch lost his life while fighting against a certain mindset. It is a battle that needs to be fought by all,” he said.

Congress leaders Rajani Patil, MP Ravindra Chavan, social activists MH Desrada and retired justice BG Kolse Patil joined the rally.

At the centre of the murder case is Walmik Karad, an arrested accused and close aide of Dhananjay Munde, who stepped down as food and civil supplies minister following demands for his resignation due to his proximity to Karad.

BJP MLA from Ashti in Beed, Suresh Dhas, who has been vocal against Munde and the alleged reign of terror unleashed by Karad in Beed, said he will approach the ED with complaints of corruption in the state agriculture department when it was headed by Munde.

Dhas and social activist Anjali Damania had levelled allegations of corruption amounting to ₹200 crore in the procurement of nano urea, DAP, battery operated insecticide sprayers and bags for cotton. They alleged malpractices in the procurement process, and claimed that it was done at inflated rates, despite the opposition of senior officials in the agriculture department ahead of the assembly elections last year.

Meanwhile, Dhas too is facing the heat after a close associate, Satish Bhosale, alias Khokya, was charged with assaulting a certain Dilip Dhanke and his son Mahesh in a village in Shirur taluka. Bhosale’s house in Shirur was raided by forest officials on Saturday. Officials seized poaching equipment including sharp weapons, tiger skins and animal meat. Forest minister Ganesh Naik has said action against Bhosale will be taken if he was found to be involved in poaching activities.

Bhoasle has been booked for assaulting Dhankne for opposing his alleged attempts to poach wild animals.