Woman Withdraws Rape Complaint against Maha Minister Munde

According to an official, the woman who had claimed to be Maharashtra Cabinet minister Dhananjay Munde’s sister-in law and accused him of rape, withdrew her complaint on Friday, 22 January without citing any reason, PTI reported.

Further, she has been asked to submit a notorised affidavit for the same, the official said.

The woman had visited Oshiwara police station on 11 January and recorded her statement, accusing Munde of rape and sexual assault on pretext of marriage in 2006.

Since then, the minister has admitted to being in a relationship with the complainant woman's sister, PTI reported. He also alleged that the woman he has been in a relationship with, along with her siblings, have been blackmailing him for long and that matters had also been taken to the Bombay High Court in November 2020.

An inquiry was launched into the matter and the opposition BJP appealed for Munde's resignation from the Cabinet. NCP Chief Sharad Pawar too said that the ‘allegation against him is serious’.

However, Pawar acknowledged this development saying, “I got to read the news about (the woman) withdrawing the complaint. I don’t know the details. But after discussion with Munde and officials, we felt prima facie that the truth needs to be verified first... we felt we should not jump to a conclusion until the truth is found out,” PTI quoted.

(With inputs from NDTV)

Also Read: Rape Charges Against Maharashtra Minister ‘Serious’: Sharad Pawar

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