A day after a woman from Madhya Pradesh, who works as a playback singer, accused Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde of raping her for over 14 years, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader has denied the allegations saying that it was an attempt to blackmail and extort money.
Here are ten things to know about the case so far:
1. A Mumbai-based singer on Monday night alleged that Munde had been repeatedly raping her since 2006 in a tweet. She even alleged that the police was not registering her complaint.
2. She went on to claim that her “life is in threat" and also shared a copy of her written complaint to the Mumbai Police on Monday on Twitter. The woman also claimed that no action was being taken against the accused by the police.
I have lodged complaint of Rape @MumbaiPolice @CPMumbaiPolice against #DhananjayMunde no action till now @PawarSpeaks @supriya_sule @UdhavThackeray . Oshiwara police station is not even accepting my written complaint @Dev_Fadnavis my life is in threat please help @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/mf4ZlHxd6A
— renu sharma (@renusharma018) January 11, 2021
Also Read: “My Life Is In Threat”: Singer Accuses Congress Minister Dhananjay Munde Of Rape
3. In her tweet, the survivor further mentioned that the Oshiwara police station refused to accept her complaint, tagging former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Congress leader Supriya Sule and seeking help in the matter.
4. As per the copy of the complaint, the singer further claimed that Munde is her brother-in-law. She accused him of sexual assault and rape under the pretext of marriage and blackmail.
5. The Mumbai Police replied to the singer's tweet and asked her to share details of the case with them.
6. Meanwhile, Munde, a Nationalist Congress Party leader and Maharashtra Minister of Social Justice, has hit out at the complainant and refuted all allegations made against him. In a Facebook post, Munde has called Sharma’s allegations “fake.” Terming the allegations false and defamatory, he said that they are “defaming” and “blackmailing” him. He also accused her of plotting a conspiracy to extort money from him.
7. In an interview with " target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zee 24 Taas, the singer claimed she knows Munde since 1996 “when he was nothing.” She continued, “He started raping me in 2006… He used to ask whether I would take care of his kids and marry him."
8. Explaining the nature of his relationship with the woman, Munde further noted that the singer is the younger sister of a woman with whom he had a relationship back in 2003. Claiming that his family (wife and friends) knew about him and the singer's sister, Munde has a son and a daughter with her. “My family, wife and my children have also taken these kids as family and approved. I have taken the responsibility of the highest parenting of a woman named Karuna Sharma as the mother of my children,” he alleged in a lengthy post.
9. He went on to claim that from 2019 the singer and her sister started blackmailing him and demanding money. “My life was also given threats of serious physical injury, betrayal,” he said.
https://www.facebook.com/DPMunde/posts/2903576766538601
Also Read: Rally To Recruit Women Officers To Military Police Begins In Pune
10. Munde has been facing backlash on social media ever since the singer's allegations came to light. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Executive Member Kirit Somaiya took to Twitter to claim that Munde has “no right” to hold the position of a Cabinet Minister. “Cabinet Minister Dhananjay Munde has himself admitted that he has one too many wives. And now a third woman has made fresh allegations. Dhananjay Munde has no right to remain in the state cabinet till he comes clean of all the allegations against him,” Somaiya said in a video.
Having Relationship with 3 Women, Minister Dhananjay Munde must stay out from Maharashtra Cabinet till He gets Clean
— Kirit Somaiya (@KiritSomaiya) January 12, 2021
3 महिलांशी संबंध असलेले मंत्री धनंजय मुंडे यांनी सद्य परिस्थिति स्पष्ट, होईपर्यंत महाराष्ट्र मंत्रिमंडळातून बाहेर रहावे @BJP4Maharashtra @Dev_Fadnavis pic.twitter.com/rsKS5H0kfU
Feature Image Credit: DNA