'Matter must be probed’: Sharad Pawar on woman who accused NCP minister of rape

A 38-year-old woman has accused Dhananjay Munde of rape and claimed that Mumbai Police ignored her complaint. She wrote a letter to the Mumbai Police commissioner on January 10, saying that the NCP leader had raped her repeatedly in 2006

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said on Friday the woman, who has levelled allegations of rape against party leader and Maharashtra minister of social justice Dhananjay Munde, must also be investigated after several politicians accused her of harassing and blackmailing them.

“We have full faith in Mumbai police. Let them do their investigation first," Pawar had said. (HT Photo)

“Yesterday, when I commented on the Dhananjay Munde issue, I had said that it was a serious issue. But at that time some facts were not in the public domain. I came to know that there were similar complaints against the same woman by different political leaders. So, it must be probed,” Pawar said, according to ANI.

The 38-year-old woman has accused Dhananjay Munde of rape and claimed that Mumbai Police ignored her complaint. She wrote a letter to the Mumbai Police commissioner on January 10, saying that the NCP leader had raped her repeatedly in 2006. Munde denied the allegations and said that he was being blackmailed by the woman and her sister. But he acknowledged the fact that he was in a relationship with the accuser’s sister and has two children with her.

“We have full faith in Mumbai police. Let them do their investigation first. Whenever the fact in the investigation will come out, we will think of probable action. I want that an ACP-level woman officer should investigate this case to bring out the facts,” Pawar said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded Munde’s resignation with state unit president Chandrakant Patil saying the Maharashtra government is unlikely to take any action against Munde.

However, leader of opposition and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that both sides had to be considered before making any demand. “We need to consider both the sides before making any demand. The party (NCP) and the chief minister should look into it,” Fadnavis said.

(With agency inputs)