Sarpanch’s murder widens caste fault lines in Maharashtra’s Beed 

In December 2024, a sarpanch in Massajog village in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra was murdered. The incident led to the resignation of Dhananjay Munde, a Minister of the Nationalist Congress Party, after his aide turned out to be a key accused person in the case. Vinaya Deshpande Pandit reports on how the incident has highlighted the problem of extortion gangs in Beed and widened the rift between Marathas and Vanjaris