Mumbai: Woman withdraws rape complaint against Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, say reports

The woman who had levelled rape allegations against Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Dhananjay Munde has withdrawn her complaint, a police officer told PTI on Friday. A written complaint was given to the police, but no first information report was registered.

As the woman has withdrawn her complaint, the matter will now be closed. “The woman has given us a written statement saying that she wanted to withdraw the complaint,” an unidentified police officer told The Indian Express. After she withdrew her complaint, the woman was asked to submit a notarised affidavit.

The woman cited no reason for taking back her complaint, according to PTI. However, The Indian Express reported that she was upset that the matter was being used for political reasons.

Earlier this month, a 37-year-old woman had alleged that the Maharashtra social justice minister raped her multiple times in 2006. On January 10, the woman wrote to the Mumbai police commissioner. In the letter, the woman claimed that Munde visited her house in 2006, and alleged that he raped her repeatedly and shot a video as well. The woman said that the minister maintained a physical relationship with her, and promised to provide her with contacts in the film industry.

On January 11, the woman tweeted an image of the letter, tagging top leaders, including Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. She said that her complaint was not being registered at the Oshiwara police station in Mumbai.

Munde refuted the allegations against him, and said his family knew about the relationship he shared with the woman. He, in turn, had accused the woman of blackmailing him. The minister said that he had filed a police complaint against her in November.

Meanwhile, Pawar on Friday said that his party’s decision to wait for the truth to be revealed before an action was taken against Munde was right. Without taking any names, the politician claimed that efforts were being made “from Delhi to Mumbai” to bring down the state’s Maha Vikas Aghadi government, comprised of his party, the Congress, and the Shiv Sena.

“I got to read the news about [the woman] withdrawing the complaint,” Pawar said, according to PTI. “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.”

On January 14, Pawar called the rape accusations “serious”, and said that a decision would be taken after a meeting of the party. Pawar said that Munde had informed him about having a relationship with the woman.