Rape charges against Dhananjay Munde 'very serious', says Sharad Pawar

Allegations of rape against Maharashtra Social Justice Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde are "very serious", party chief Sharad Pawar said on Thursday.

Briefing the media, Sharad Pawar said, "The charge against Dhananjay Munde is very serious and yesterday Dhananjay Munde has put his side in front of us. He has not given any confession letter yet. It is the opposition who is asking for a confession letter."

The veteran leader said the NCP members would hold a meeting to decide further action.

Dhananjay Munde on Tuesday refuted the rape allegations levelled by a 38-year-old woman who said he has been in a relationship with her since 2003.

In a post on Facebook, the NCP leader claimed that the woman and her sister are trying to blackmail him and extort money from him. He said that he had also given a complaint to the police in November 2020.

After Munde accepted his relationship with the woman, Bharatiya Janata Party's women wing wrote to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and demanded his removal from the Cabinet.

A rape complaint against Dhananjay Munde was filed by a woman on January 11 at the Oshiwara police station in Andheri. She alleged that Munde has been raping her with an assurance of marriage and also promised to help her to get work as a singer in Bollywood.

( With inputs from ANI )