Maratha Quota Activist Manoj Jarange Booked For Defamatory Remarks Against Dhananjay Munde

During a rally over Santosh Deshmukh's murder, Manoj Jarange was booked for allegedly making defamatory remarks minister Dhananjay Munde

Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil during a rally, in Pune.

Source : PTI

The Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange was booked on Sunday for allegedly making defamatory remarks against National Congress Party leader and minister Dhananjay Munde in Maharashta’s Beed. According to the PTI, his comments have created a divide between two sections of society.

As per the report, during a rally, Jarange targeted NCP minister Munde over the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. The activist said that the Maratha community wouldn’t allow Munde to roam on the streets if Dehmukh’s family was harmed.

His remarks upset Munde’s supporters who demanded that Jarange be booked. They had also protested against Jarange outside the Shivajinagar Police station in Beed.

The FIR against Jarange was later registered at Parli police station on a complaint of one Tukaram Aghav.

On Sunday, a Maratha outfit took out a march in Pune to condemn the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh and the death of Somnath Suryawanshi in judicial custody in Parbhani. Family members of the murdered sarpanch, former CM Prithviraj Chavan, NCP (SP) MP Bajrang Sonawane, BJP MLA Suresh Dhas, Maratha activist Manoj Jarange, along with leaders from various parties, and office-bearers were present during the march. Protestors shouted slogans against Munde, as per PTI.

Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9, allegedly because he tried to thwart an attempt to extort money from an energy firm operating a windmill project. Police have so far arrested seven persons over his murder.

Walmik Karad, an associate of Munde, has been arrested in the extortion case.

According to PTI, A Special Investigation Team (SIT) from the Crime Investigation Department (CID) is investigating the case. The murder has taken on a caste conflict dimension, as Deshmukh was a Maratha, while most of the accused belong to the Vanjari community, a dominant group in the Beed region.