On Tuesday, Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde rejected the rape allegations made against him by a playback singer.
According to the sources, the 37-year-old complainant, an aspiring singer has alleged that she wrote to the Mumbai Police Commissioner on 10 January stating that Dhananjay had repeatedly raped her in 2006. She also claimed that she approached Oshiwara police earlier, but her complaint was not accepted.
The woman in her complaint to the commissioner has claimed that Munde is her brother-in-law and had married her sister in 1998. She claimed that Munde first raped her in 2006 when she was alone at her home and since then had repeated the act multiple times over the years. She further said that Munde gave assurances of marrying her as well and helping her get work as a singer in Bollywood.
Subsequently, on Monday i.e., 11th January 2021, the woman tweeted stating that her life is in threat and tagged several political leaders, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dhananjay Responds to the Allegations
The NCP leader Dhananjay Munde refuted the above allegations while stating that the woman’s claims were part of a conspiracy to blackmail him. He uploaded a statement on Facebook, acknowledging that he had been in a relationship with the woman’s sister.
“I have been in a relationship with a woman, since 2003. This matter was known to my family, wife, and friends. In this mutual relationship, we were blessed with a son and a daughter. I have given my name to both of these kids. From school admission to all the papers, these kids have my name as parents; these kids stay with me,” Dhananjay wrote. He further alleged that from 2019, the woman and the complainant “blackmailed me and started demanding money. My life was also given threats of serious physical injury and betrayal. Now, the woman’s sister has alleged that I have raped her in the pretext of marriage. All these allegations are baseless and false and are part of the scheme to blackmail me and extort money. I have proofs of text messages sent to me demanding money,” he further alleged.
“In November 2020, the woman had published objectionable material about my personal moments on social media. I have already filed a case with the Bombay High Court in this regard. The court has passed orders refraining from publishing such material. The matter is sub-judice,” Munde said.
Dhananjay Munde, the nephew of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde has joined NCP in 2013. He made headlines in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, wherein he defeated his cousin and Gopinath’s daughter Pankaja Munde of the BJP.
